To Find Oneself, and One Another
by Hyuga Akimoto
Summary: Hinata is rejected as heir of the Hyuuga clan, and is to become a priestess upon turning 16, yet Naruto, a ninja searching for revenge, attempts to assasinate her father, and kidnaps her instead.A winding road brings them together yet fate has other plans
1. Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

This is set in an AU. More will be explained about Naruto and Hinata's new world through the story

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A flood of light ran throughout the room, illuminating all that it touched. A single ray of light fell upon the face of a young adult, a teenage girl. Opening slowly, her eyes revealing their contents, for her eyes had no visible pupils, but rather, they appeared to peer into her soul, a window for all to see, a window of deep lavender. Today would be the beginning of an end. She knew it. As she slowly felt her world fall into place, piece by piece as her drowsiness wore off a light tap came to the door.

"Hinata-san, please wake up, you must prepare for the ceremony soon." A voice called through the door, a servant of the Hyuuga family.

"I'll be out shortly, just give me a moment." Came the soft spoken reply

She sat up upon her bed, rubbing her eyes, allowing memory and daily rituals to take place within her mind. Her hair fell along her back, long and dark, kept yet disheveled and natural. She climbed out of bed and walked towards the small water basin she kept to wash her face in the morning. Her body was lithe and graceful, yet strong and resilient; her frame portrayed a level of beauty women envied. As she washed her face, thoughts began to surface as her conscience awoke.

'Sixteen, today I turn sixteen… After today, I am no longer the heir to the Hyuuga throne; I am simply a shrine maiden. I am too weak to be that heiress, my father, my sister, my family all concur. I'm worthless in marriage, no one is willing to marry a carrier of the byakugan, even if it gives such power, even if it could create an alliance that could further elevate my family, people see me as….'

Another splash of water interrupted that last thought. The young shrine maiden to be began towards her drawer, taking off the kimono she wore for sleep and putting on the clothes she would be expected to wear as a shrine maiden. A simple blue kimono decorated with ash-gray leaves, beneath this was a pair of pleated shorts and an under-tunic. She then looked into the mirror overlooking the drawer, contemplating on what to do with her hair. After several moments of thought, she discarded the idea and walked to the door. As her hand reached for the handle, she hesitated, then firmly grabbed the handle and slid the door open…

Monks, priests, holy men, shrine maidens, chief followers of The Way flooded into the Hyuuga compound, a great fortress of stone, meant to protect the many members of the Hyuuga main and branch families. Amongst one of these 'holy men', a single, curious member wandered amongst them. A lost monk he calls himself, a searcher of the way. His blonde hair, blue eyes and whisker marks separated him, causing him to appear quite unique. He wore an orange saint's robe and a sakkat, carrying with him a monk's staff.

"Excuse me, may I find the young shrine maiden to be, and her father?" The outlandish monk asked a guard of the Hyuuga complex.

"Down that hall, there will be a pair of double doors, that is where the procession will take place, and where you will find them both. The area will be closed until the beginning of the ceremony, however." Replied the guard

"Oh well, perhaps you can point me out to the Zen garden? I've heard several stories about its magnificence."

"Right down that way" The guard pointed towards a corridor leading out of the main yard.

"Thank you." Said the whiskered monk as he walked down the corridor.

The passage seemed to twist and wind along a cobblestone path, slowly sloping downwards, until it led to a Zen garden easily the size of a standard four family home on a slightly lower elevation than the rest of the large Hyuuga keep, one could easily look upwards and see the several spikes places along the base of the castle. As he surveyed his surroundings he saw a young woman standing, admiring the Zen garden.

"Hello there, I didn't expect anyone else to be here, since everyone's in such a fuss over the ceremony I was hoping to get some peace and quiet" Said he, scratching the back of his head as he approached the young woman.

"O-oh, I-I'm sorry, would you like to me leave? I-it wouldn't be any trouble at all." She said, turning around to face the whiskered one. As she turned around, he noticed that she had lavender eyes, yet no pupils, a member of the Hyuuga clan. She wore an amazing blue kimono with ash grey leaves patterned all along it.

"Oh, excuse me, I'm sorry, I didn't realize that you were a member of the Hyuuga clan, my name is Uzumaki Naruto" And with that, he bowed low.

"Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you Uzumaki-kun, my name is Hyuuga Hinata" And she returned his bow with a courtly bow of her own.

"The Hyuuga Hinata? Then I am glad to personally meet the new priestess who shall be joining my brothers and sisters in the way."

"Y-you are much too kind. I find myself unworthy of this entire ceremony in fact."

"Unworthy?"

"Hyuuga-san, the ceremony shall begin soon, please join your father in the ceremony room." Gasped an attendant that rushed through the same passage Naruto had just come from.

"W-well, I am glad that I met you N-Naruto-kun, I hope that I will see you after the ceremony…" She then bowed low and left with her attendant in tow.

'Well, that was the infamous Hyuuga Hinata, daughter of the legendary Hisashi. She seems much to kind, shy and timid to be related to the bastard. I can see why she was rejected as heir of the Hyuuga clan and replace her with her genius sister Hanabi. Too shy and timid, those same characteristics that made her weird, yet cute…' Thought Naruto as he retraced his steps towards the main courtyard.

'I sounded like an idiot…' Was the first thought that echoed through Hinata's head as she rushed away from the boy covered in orange.

"Hinata-sama, I implore you to hurry, otherwise we may be late…" Hinata's attendant nagged.

With that Hinata's foot steps quickened in pace.

'I need to rid myself of that stupid suttering problem whenever I meet new people. Yet another reason why father detests me. Sometimes I wish I could just fade away, start a new life somewhere else, anywhere else, as long as it isn't here.' Thought Hinata as she exited the passage and entered the courtyard.

More thoughts rushed through Hinata's mind as she hurried to the ceremony chamber.

'That monk probably thinks I'm an idiot. Look at me, ugly, stupid Hinata can't even talk straight to a cute monk… It's not like he and me could ever get together, he's a monk, I'm a to-be priestess, yet here I am, stuttering, talking like a fool… Too flustered just because he looks so damn cute… Dammit, stop with these thoughts, I'm going to be a priestess soon, and this means no more thinking like this…' Yet Hinata's rain of negative thoughts stopped as soon as she reached the door to the ceremony chamber, she could hear the room was abuzz, waiting for her to make her grand appearance.

Hinata held her breath as the attendant threw the doors open and announced her arrival.


	2. Such Beauty In A Song

"We toast, to our new follower in the way!" A monk yelled from a circular table, all with a cup of wine in their hand, held up high for everyone to see.

"Cheers!" They replied in unison

Save for one. Hinata simply stared blankly into the cup, looking at her reflection. She felt a great weight lifted from her, yet she felt a hole deep within her heart. The ceremony couldn't have gone better, in fact, it was still just a blur, somewhat replaying in her mind, yet much too fogged to see properly. Her mind keep floating back to the stern faced figure to her left, and the young girl to her right.

"Hinata-neesan, why aren't you joining in the toast, it is for you after all." Asked the young girl

"Oh, I'm sorry Hanabi-chan, I was busy thinking, that's all." Replied Hinata, hesitantly looking at the wine. A moment later, she took a slow sip, and was immediately repulsed by the sour taste.

"Hee-hee, Hinata-neesan, I see you don't like wine. I'd like to try some myself, but I'm way too little." Hanabi teased with a smile.

"Either drink the wine or not Hinata-chan, taking a small sip insults our guests." Came a voice from the stern, older man who sat next to her.

"I am sorry father." Hinata bowed her head slightly and put the cup down.

There was no response from her father.

"Father, please excuse me, I must go to the lavatory."

"Go ahead." Was his reply

With that she curtly left the table and began for the exit. As she left the laughter and talk of the dinner room, Hinata's ears were assaulted by a far more pleasant sound. Musical notes, from some sort of wind instrument hung in the air. She followed the sounds to the great fountain that was the center piece of the Hyuuga castle.

As she walked towards the fountain, she saw the same monk she had met hours ago, back in the Zen Garden.

"Y-you p-play beautifully…" Hinata said, barely above a whisper as she watched from behind a column.

He immediately stopped playing and listened to the air, as if to see if it was simply a trick of the air.

"P-please, don't stop playing…" Said Hinata, still talking barely above a whisper as she hesitantly left her hiding place and walked towards the orange monk.

He no longer wore the sakkat over his head, for it hung limply from his neck. His staff lay idly next to him, his hands holding an ocarina, its shape not so far removed from the head of a fox, its mouth served as the mouthpiece, whilst from its ears came the sound. His blue eyes glistened in the light, his blonde hair and whisker shaped scars adding to his fox like appearance

"Hello Hinata-san, were you the one complementing my playing? You are most kind, I find my playing mediocre at best." Said Naruto, bowing low as she approached.

"N-no, i-it's quite good, f-far better t-than what little skill I have with it."

"Thank you, but I think that my lady's skill with this instrument far outstrips my own, your playing at the ceremony proves that."

"Y-you are far too kind…"

"May I ask that you play it for me once more? If you don't wish too, I understand…"

"N-no, I would love to!" Hinata said in a much more audible voice.

"Thank you for giving me a private concert so that I may enjoy your wonderful playing." Said Naruto as he gave her the ocarina.

She gladly took the instrument into hand, gently handling it as to not break it, admiring the amazing craftsmanship. She then took a seat next to Naruto, the fountain gently flowing behind them. Hinata put the instrument to her lips, and played. What came forth was a sound of utter bliss. The sound of beauty, yet sadness, echoed throughout the notes, as each one poured forth from her lungs and into the instrument. Sound and feeling became one as she felt her soul resonate with tranquility. When she finished, she opened her eyes to find several others around her, Naruto next to her smiling.

"Wh-what's this?" Hinata asked in utter amazement.

"Several of the monks and shrine maidens heard your song as they were leaving, and soon you had a small audience admiring you." Naruto explained.

"That was great Hinata-neesan, I'm amazed at how you can put such feeling into your song." Hanabi spoke out amongst the small crowd.

"T-thank you… All of you." Hinata could only say, stunned.

There were several murmurs amongst them, all complementing her of her skill of the wind instrument. Each then said their goodbye, until Hanabi had left for her room, the others had left, and only Naruto and Hinata were left.

"I'm glad to have met you Hinata-chan. I hope we meet one another once more along the road of life. Perhaps you could visit the shrine I watch over some time." Said Naruto as he bowed low. Whilst he bowed, a thought echoed through his head, 'Chan! I said Chan! I'm an idiot, I can't believe I let that slip.'

"T-That would be nice, Naruto-kun…" Replied Hinata, thoughts also circulating throughout her head, 'Chan, chan, chan! He used chan! Does that mean we're friends? Oh, what will I make of this…'

"Good bye Hinata-san. And I'm sorry if I make you sad…" Said Naruto as he walked away from Hinata, out of the Hyuuga castle.

"…Sad…?"

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As Naruto walked away from the great castle, he silently took a path into the nearby woods, walking until he came to a small outcropping of rock. He entered, then threw his sakkat and staff into a corner, amongst a pile of what appeared to be supplies. Food, water, clothes, costumes, disguises. He began to dig through the pile until he found a set of black clothes. As he began to change, thoughts bubbled to the surface.

'Tonight is the night. I'll kill that bastard and make him pay. He was foolish enough to not check out my background that thoroughly. I memorized the patterns of those stupid guards perfectly, every single edge of that castle, I know like the back of my hand. I hope Hinata-chan can forgive me for this, but her father is responsible for my sadness, my pain, my anger. Such a kind spirit, she can't be his daughter. I feel her pain though, yet what can make her so sad, to lend such great beauty to her song craft…' Thought Naruto as he finished putting on his clothes, finishing with his hood and mask.

He wore the clothes of a ninja, black as the night and much more deadly. Two blades hung behind him, short blades, each one was carved intricately. The hilt shaped like the head of a fox, the sheath shaped liked the body of one. He drew both blades and spun them, then pressed a button, causing both foot long blades to extend to three feet. He looked at both, inspecting every imperfection, or in this case, lack of. It was as close to perfect a sword could get, easily cutting through air.

"Tonight's the night…" He thought as he spun the blades, and pressed the button once more, causing them to retract to their original foot long size, and silently placed them back into their scabbards.

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Hinata stared at the fox shaped ocarina, silently thinking in her room which overlooked most of the complex.

"Naruto-kun, you couldn't make me sad… Could you? ...I want to see you again, and give this back to you…"


	3. A Shooting Star

The shadow jumped from tree to tree, making no sound, no visible trace, even the deer knew not of his presence. He came close enough to pat owls upon the head, and they not the wiser. He moved with speed, with agility, with dexterity. He was no longer Naruto, he was a ninja, a shadow. The sea of trees quickly ended, and turned into a raging river, torrents and rapids, bombarding the rocks with great force along its coast. In the center of this raging dragon stood the Hyuuga castle, the eye of this storm, its great draw bridge drawn up, turning the great stone structure into an artificial island.

"What to do…" The shadow muttered underneath his breath.

He contemplated jumping across the many scattered rocks, only to see a foolish bird land upon a rock, yet unable to keep its footing upon the rock due to its slickness, and finally it was devoured by the river by a great wave gushing into it.

"Idea one, scratched, too risky…"

The shadow thought of walking across the water, but this idea was dashed as he saw the speed at which the water flowed, with such ferocity, no way he could find a comfortable medium of charka to keep in above.

"Idea two, scratched, too difficult…"

As he thought of another path within, he saw a bird next to him take flight, a hawk, it did not flap its wings, it simply held them out and glided along the current.

"Hmm, perhaps that may work…"

Flowing through him, The Shadow allowed his charka to snake along his skin, feeling the change come around him, and soon, he too was a hawk, able to soar through the air with great ease.

'Better hurry with this, this animal-shape jutsu takes a lot more chakra, for it warps the body, not simply transforming it…' Thought the Shadow-Hawk as it took to the skies.

As he flew upwards, he circled the compound until he found a suitable landing zone, right above the keep, right above the room of his target. He then climbed, and climbed, and climbed, the keep nothing more than a speck. He then turned back, back into the shadow, and plunged towards the earth. Wind whistled past him, slowly accelerating until reaching terminal velocity, he then concentrated his chakra into the palm of his hand, and created a sphere of glowing energy, the Rasengan.

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"A shooting star, here? Amazing, it looks so pretty… I know, I'll make a wish..." Hinata said out aloud to herself.

'I wish to see Naruto-kun once more…' She wished, with all her might, her lips tightly closed.

"I hope the gods grant me my wish…" As she spoke, she lifted the ocarina to her lips, and continued to play.

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A great crash, smoke and ash, debris and rubble. It had worked, the speed and impact had blown a massive hole straight towards Hiashi's room, and there stood the one person who had taken away all of Naruto's happiness, and could help return some of that long lost happiness with sweet, sweet revenge.

A coughing Hiashi emerged from the smoke, the hope that the sheer force of the entry would kill him was dashed. He was already in his fighting stance, ready for The Shadow.

"I've waited a long time for this, I'll make you feel pain. Twice the agony I've felt all these long years!" Yelled the shadow as he charged, both blades drawn and extended.

The older man simply chuckled.

"You'll not be laughing any more old man!"

The Shadow swung the first blade in a wide arc, aiming for the head, yet Hiashi simply ducked, falling for the ploy. As the first blade finished its swing, the second came in fast and hard, yet Hiashi simply batted away the blade with his hand, striking at the black of the blade. He then countered by striking The Shadow in the chest, taking advantage of his adversaries' opening.

As he flew backwards, The Shadow ceased being the silent hunter, and began to revert to the sheer force and power of Uzumaki Naruto. As Naruto got up, he felt liquid coming up his throat, and vomited blood. The strike had caused some damage to his lungs; Naruto figured he could still keep going, at least for a little while. Naruto rushed at him at a low stance, spinning his blades, yet they were both stopped by two other weapons, a spear and a sword.

"Hiashi-sama, we'll handle this assailant, just sit back and watch!" Yelled the one wielding the spear, his fellow guard equally confident.

"Let's just see how stupid you are…" Naruto muttered, and then jumped back to a defensive stance.

He put away both of his blades and made a hand seal, what came forth of a puff of smoke, and then silence. Both guards were unsure of what to make of this, their cowardice now quite evident.

"Above you" Two Naruto's said in unison, followed by the quick death of both guards by kunai.

They then charged toward Hiashi, who had retreated a few feet. His Byakugan activated, he could see through Naruto's trick. Several more clones came forth from the smoke, several more burst forth from the door, yet more came straight out of the floor, grabbing Hiashi by the ankles. The battle cry of the same person uttered by many echoed throughout the stone structure. 'This was it' thought Naruto as he charged his Rasengan back up, aiming for Hiashi's heart.

"Stupid child." Was the last thing Naruto heard.

A torrent of pain swept of from around Hiashi. He was performing his heavenly spin. A blue wave washed over all the clones, including the true Naruto. While he was still being thrown back from the sheer force, Hiashi got into a low stance, and seemingly teleported right next to Naruto, and began his attack, the 24 hands of Hakke. With great urgency Naruto charged up the Rasengan once more in his right hand as his left arm lost all feeling, and did something that no one thought possible, he fired the Rasengan, and then disappeared into smoke.

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'Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit, shit….' Screamed an endless scream of curses that ran through Naruto's mind as he reappeared in the Zen garden next to the Keep of Hyuuga castle.

'Great, not only did I not manage to kill him, my arm's practically useless.' Thought Naruto as he stared at his limp arm.

"There he is, get him!" A guard yelled, and several more followed him into the Zen garden.

"Crap!" Yelled Naruto as he noticed that the guards were coming from the only entrance or exit.

He decided he'd make a new exit. Naruto gathered some chakra into his feet and ran up a wall, straight to what appeared to be a lit balcony, its guard rails wooden, something that appeared somewhat out of place in such a cold place as this. The fading voices from the ground faded. He heard something of some sort.

"He's heading for Hinata-sama's room!""

He began to hear sweet music as well.

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A great din had been made, causing Hinata to cease playing. It appeared to originate from the Zen garden, and began to look towards that direction when something completely unexpected happened. A ninja had climbed into her bedroom! Hinata's thoughts quickly fast forwarded into panic, and she did the very first thing that came to mind: She screamed.

"Hinata-san?" Yelled the ninja, causing Hinata to cease screaming.

"Hinata-sama! Are you all right?" Yelled several guards as they broke into Hinata's chambers.

In response Naruto drew his blade and took it to Hinata's neck. The ninja appeared to have trouble moving his arm, but was able to successfully grab her by the stomach as he dragged her towards the edge of the balcony, towards the river.

"Hinata-san, I'm sorry if I'm scaring you, I'm sorry if you feel sad afterwards…" The ninja whispered into Hinata's ear.

"Naruto?" Whispered Hinata as she clutched Naruto's ocarina.

Before Naruto could respond, a guard threw his flail at the two, Naruto barely dodging it, crushing the guard rails to his right. He struck a second time, crushing the rails to his left. He swung a third and final time, causing Naruto to lean backwards, breaking the guard rails and bringing both he and Hinata into the perilous river.

"You idiot, look what you've done!" Screamed Naruto as he and Hinata fell. Fortunately, Naruto was able to place his blade back into its sheath, protecting it from the water, as well as any accidental cuts. Unfortunately, Hinata lay limply in his arms as they fell, for Hinata had fainted.


	4. Hearts

Raging rapids smashed Naruto against hundreds of boulders embedded on the river, crushing and cracking ribs and snapping joints. Struggling against the current, he attempted to bring the unconscious girl in his arms to the surface, as well as himself. As he managed to bring her face to the surface, Naruto looked around himself, watching the trees run past and the castle shrink to nothing more than a dot. He threw off his mask, it was making it hard to both see and breathe. More boulders came his way as the river ran, attempting to swim out of their way or use himself as a shield to protect the young priestess. Time passed by in seconds, minutes, hours, a constant struggle to stay alive against nature. He knew that he couldn't keep this struggle up much longer, to fight against nature was folly, and he knew all too well after several attempts to break trees in half with his bare fists in his child hood.

The river slowed, dozens of miles away from the Hyuuga complex, allowing Naruto and Hinata to drift along with the current. He used one arm to paddle them both to a river bank lined with smooth stones, seemingly watched over by several trees. As the water began to become shallow, he swept the young woman in both arms and carried her to the bank, set her down gently and collapsed next to her out of sheer exhaustion. As Naruto listened to each deep breath, a thought came to him, almost like an explosion: Was Hinata still breathing as well? He rolled over and put his ear to her face, listening for any sign of breathing. None was heard.

A single thought ran through his mind 'I've killed her!' Naruto began to attempt to revive her, putting both of his hands down on her heart and pushing down in synchronization with his own. He then brought his face to hers, and hesitantly put his lips to hers, and blew life into her. She immediately began to cough up water, yet she still remained unconscious. After laying her head on its side to allow the water to drain from her mouth, Naruto sat down and began to think.

'What should I do with her now? I've managed to save her, but should I bring her back? I'd probably be killed on the spot. I can't leave her here, I may as well as not have attempted to save her in the first place, she could die from exposure, starvation, or get attacked by animals, or worse, bandits. I'll bring her with me to the cave, then I'll show her the way back to the castle and send a shadow clone with her, that's what I'll do' Decided Naruto.

He gently scooped her into his arms, and began to carry her to his temporary hideout. He looked about to re-orient himself and found that he was relatively close to that small cave. As he walked, Naruto found himself drawn to her face. He couldn't help but stare, her face almost appeared to have been carved by angels, each curve and angle perfectly placed, no one could be this pretty. As he walked, admiring the beautiful, lithe human being in his arms, he noticed that she was shivering. In response he hugged her closer and decided to build a fire once he got to their destination.

Soon the small out cropping of rock appeared, the trip taking only fifteen or so minutes. He fished out a mat and laid her down upon it, and began to gather some wood for a fire.

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Hinata was having a horrible dream. She was chased by demons of cold and ice, great creatures made of stone stopping her path as she ran in hurried flight, the wind blowing so hard that they cut her skin and clothes. However, she considered it a dream rather than a nightmare, for one thing had happened that allowed for it to qualify for a dream in her opinion: Naruto came to save her.

He faced every stone beast and took every blow meant for her, then banished them to sleep forever as mountains. Naruto then crushed the earth causing a mighty crevasse to appear, the demons of water and ice fell down, becoming mighty rivers. He then took a great breath and from the pit of his stomach came a mighty roar, stilling the wind. As she ran toward her savior, a great darkness came and swallowed her, a great hand then reached from the darkness and ripped out Hinata's heart. Naruto then summoned a star into his hand and blew the darkness away, yet Hinata remained in despair.

"N-Naruto-k-kun… M-my h-heart, it's gone!" She sobbed

"Don't worry Hinata-chan, I'll share mine with you." Naruto assured her.

As she began to question him, he brought his hand to her chest and plunged his hand into the hole that had once been her heart, then kissed her. As he took a stepped back, she looked to where her heart once was and found it filled and saw a chain linking the hearts of both.

"See? Now we're one." Explained Naruto

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Hinata slowly opened her eyes. She didn't want the dream to end; she wanted it to continue forever. Yet, she began to recognize her surroundings. She was in a mat, not her bed, in a cave, not her room; a fire blazing next to her, yet her fireplace was at the other end of her room. She then in quick succession replayed all of last night's occurrences, recalling Naruto taking her captive and the two of them falling into the river, then it all became blank. She bolted upright and was greeted by Naruto's voice from across the fire.

"Hinata-san, you're awake, I'm glad you're uninjured."

"N-naruto-kun! W-where am I?" A panicking Hinata asked.

"We're in my small refuge, a home away from home a suppose."

"B-but why were you at the castle! W-why were you dressed like a ninja! Why did you take me hostage!"

"I'm sorry about that Hinata-san. I pretended to be a monk to get into the castle."

"Why? Why did you try to sneak into the castle?"

"I'm a ninja from Konoha, the village your clan was formerly a part of. I was ordered to infiltrate and murder your father, so that we could persuade the rest of your clan to return."

"S-so… W-was… W-was y-your f-friendship with me a j-joke?" Tears welled up in her eyes.

"No Hinata, I really did want to be your friend. But I took you hostage to try and get your bodyguards to give me a chance to jump into the river, but they were idiots and attacked me regardless."

"W-would y-you have k-killed m-me had I r-resisted?"

"Never, I could never hurt you after meeting you… It's just that your father… I hate your father…"

The two stayed silent for a time, staring into the fire, until Naruto began to speak once again.

"In the morning Hinata-san, I'll bring you back to the castle, and I'll return to my village. You needn't worry about me appearing again, it was decided that if this failed then no further attempts would be made."

"N-no Naruto-kun… I-I don't want t-to go b-back to that p-place. I-it's b-been my home f-for a-all my life, and I-I hate it."

Naruto looked at her in shock, he had never expected this response from her.

"M-my f-father l-looks a-at me with disgust, a-and t-the r-rest o-of t-the clan l-looks a-at m-me as w-weak. I-I ha-haven't a s-single friend t-there…" She explained, tears welling up in her eyes, then falling and cascading around her face.

"P-please N-naruto, t-take me with you…" She pleaded

"I…I can't. It'd be to dangerous to take me with you." Replied Naruto

"I-I beg of you N-naruto! P-please… I-if you a-are m-my friend… T-take me away from that horrid place." Begged she, tears freely falling from her lavender eyes.

"Alright…" He said hesitantly

"Thank you Naruto-kun" She said as she reached over and hugged him.

Realizing what she had done, Hinata quickly took her place on the mat and looked down at the ground, as if it were the most interesting thing in the world, attempting to hide the deep shade of crimson she had become. As she stared hard into the ground, Hinata began to feel her head droop from fatigue. As she lay, feeling her conscious mind slip away, Naruto came over and covered her in a blanket.


	5. Four Tailed Fox?

'**_Wake up Brat…Wake up!_**' Came an angry, distorted, female voice.

Naruto's eyes slowly opened, his back still against the wall, his neck hanging loosely, his body stiff and cramp from sleeping sitting.

'_**Kuso brat… Wake up… Now that I'm awake….I want some questions answered…'**_

'Kyuubi?'

'_**Right dumb brat, now that we're awake, where the hell are we? Ever since this merging business occurred, I always end up sleeping through the new moon, and it's always dangerous probing that pile of shit you call a subconscious.'**_

'Well, if you dislike my subconscious, why don't you just go and leave my head? Oh yeah, that's right, because you wanted to merge with me because it was boring as hell in that seal.'

'_**Answer my question baka.' The spirit demanded in a haughty voice**_

'Right then…' Retorted Naruto as he stepped out of the cave and stretched his stiff muscles.

'_**Who's the girl, boy? Did you finally wise up like I told you to and found a mate? Or did you finally take my other bit of advice and just raid some village, kidnap, and rape the prettiest female?'**_

'Neither you stupid fox. Remember that mission Obaa-chan assigned to me before you fell asleep? Well, this is after that mission.'

'**_So what?' _**Interrupted the fox

'Hinata-chan is the daughter of the target, and she decided to defect to our side.' Continued Naruto

'_**Heh, stupid kit… Did you kill him?'**_

'No'

'**_You're a worthless baka… Couldn't even kill a stupider human… Even worse, can't even avenge family properly…' _**As Kyuubi finished, Naruto began to smell a sniffing sound coming from his mind.

'_**What's this? Where's that ocarina I told you to make?'**_

'I gave it to Hinata-chan'

'_**BAKA! Do you even fathom as to wh-'**_

'Shut up, just shut up…'

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A dull ache echoed from Hinata's side, causing her to wake prematurely. She was having such a nice dream in her opinion. She had been kidnapped by Naruto, had a dream within her dream of him saving her, and she woke up in her dream, only to be saved by Naruto again. This was one of the best dreams she had ever had she decided. Unfortunately for her, that dull ache was becoming bothersome. With her eyes still closed, she reached into the folds of her clothes and felt the fox shape of her ocarina.

'Did I fall asleep with it? I really mustn't sleep with it, I may break it…'

As random thoughts filtered through Hinata's mind, a gentle touch to her shoulder and a voice beckoned her to awaken.

"Rise and shine, Hinata-san"

Hinata's eyes flew wide open.

'None of it was a dream then? Well, save for the dream within a dream, but the rest was all real! This is too amazing too be real, but it is!' Hinata's mind quickly processed.

"We'll need to leave soon Hinata-san, if we're to reach our next destination by nightfall."

Hinata bolted upright, and then stared at Naruto. They were still in the little cave; the fire had burned itself out and the sun was pouring through the cave's mouth. She noticed that Naruto had changed back into his monk's clothes and had a backpack on.

"I only need your mat Hinata, and you of course, then we can go."

She immediately complied, almost jumping off the mat and throwing off her blankets. She then began to fold the blankets and role the mat up, almost like a demon possessed.

"Hinata-san, you don't need to go so fast…"

Of course, by the time Naruto had finished talking, she had already finished rolling the mat up. Naruto then took it at stuffed it into his bag and went towards the exit, with Hinata right behind him.

"N-Naruto-kun… Since I l-left my clan, that makes me a t-traitor doesn't it?" Asked Hinata

"It unfortunately does Hinata-san, and now we've got to worry about anyone looking for you. Fortunately for us, I've got some disguises we can wear once we get to our next stop. Until then, we'll have to hope that no one recognizes a monk and priestess walking the lonely roads."

"W-where are we going N-naruto-kun? To Konoha?"

"Yeah, but first we'll stop at the nearby village and pick up some supplies, and change our clothes."

Hinata responded by nodding, and so they walked off. After a few short minutes of walking amongst the trees, the forest turned to road. After judging which direction to go by via the sun, they began to head southward.

"N-Naruto-kun, what's the name of the village we're going to?" Asked Hinata as she trailed behind.

"The name of the village is Jordan, an ironworks town." He called back

As they walked, Naruto slowed his pace so that rather than Hinata following him, they were side-by-side.

"Hinata-san, do you still have your ocarina?" Questioned Naruto

"Y-yeah, I-I still do… I've been meaning to g-give it b-back to y-you…" She answered, producing the fox shaped ocarina.

"You can have it Hinata-san, keep it as your birthday present from me to you, but I was wondering, could you play it for me?"

"O-of course N-Naruto-kun, what would you like to listen to?"

"Anything, play anything you want."

"A-alright…" She answered, then took the fox to her lips and began to play.

Despite her preoccupation with the ocarina, thoughts slowly trickled down, into her head, 'I wonder what Naruto-kun likes to listen to? Well, he does seem to enjoy my playing, so maybe he likes any kind of music. He must hate my voice though, I'm always stuttering. I know! I swear to never stutter in front of Naruto-kun again!'

As she played, several shadowy figures began to creep through the bushes, shadowing them, they the only ones on a lonely road.

'Something's off, a strange scent's been shoved up my nose… Smells like humans or orcs who haven't bathed in weeks.' Thought Naruto

'Could it be bandits? It's already nearing night…'

Unfortunately for Naruto, several large figures wielding blades emerged from the flora. Orcs it appeared, pig-faced, snot nosed, short, stubby, green, disgusting humanoids. Hinata gasped, almost dropping the ocarina. Naruto immediately entered a defensive stance, ready to immediately repel the first attacker.

"Give us your shit… **SNORT**…Or we'll kill you…**SNORT**…" Demanded one of the orcs.

"Stay close to me Hinata-san." Whispered Naruto

"N-no! I'll help! I can fight N-Naruto-san!" She whispered back

"Byakugan!" She quietly shouted, the area around her eyes became enveloped in veins, and she too took a stance, the Hakkeshou. The Eight Heavenly Trigrams Palm.

**_'Heh, what a treat, a member of the Hyuuga family! You did choose a good mate, kit. She could probably kill all of these orcs here like there were nothing, and you too, if it weren't for me._**' Kyuubi whispered into Naruto's ear

'Shut up you, I'm busy you stupid fox.' Naruto retorted, in attempt to cleanse his thoughts. 'Seven of them, four for me, three for Hinata-san, surrounding us in a circular formation.'

"Hinata-san, cover my back, I'm depending on you, I'll take out the four in front of us, you take care of the three in back." Ordered Naruto

"H-hai!" She answered back.

The first orc charged towards Naruto. Parrying the blade with his staff, Naruto easily put his first opponent off balance, and he followed it with a half-knuckle punch to the throat with enough force to send it reeling back and fall down, apparently dead. The next three came at the same time, in an attempt to keep their opponent pressured. Naruto parried the blade of the second orc, sending this one off balance as well, and shoved it into the path of the third orc, causing them both to fall. As the fourth orc came in, blade high, Naruto simply speared it through the throat with his staff, killing it instantly. The two that were on the ground began to rise, but Naruto crushed the head of one with his staff and crushed the neck of the other.

Meanwhile, Hinata was staring at the inner coils systems of these beasts. The first of the three charged headlong with its blade, ignorant of style or grace. Hinata easily side stepped this attack and made four strikes to the creature's arm and three to the head. The beast almost immediately collapsed, dropping it's blade first, then falling to the dirt, foaming at the mouth, brain dead apparently. Hinata faced her two other opponents. In cowardly fear, they both simply ran, and Hinata allowed them to run like cowardly dogs.

"Wow Hinata-san, I didn't think that you'd straight out scare them off." Remarked Naruto, patting Hinata's shoulder.

"T-thanks N-Naruto-kun…" She meekly replied as she turned to face him.

"It's getting dark pretty quick, I didn't want to avoid appearing suspicious, but bandit attacks will only worsen if we stay out on the road at night…"

"Appearing suspicious?" Questioned Hinata

"Stand back Hinata-san" He said, and she stepped back a few feet.

Naruto bit the tip of his thumb, drawing some blood and spread it across his palm. He then did several hand seals in quick succession, and ended with slamming his open palm against the ground. A puff of smoke appeared, something large hidden by the dark mist.

"What smells like disgusting orcs? Oh, dead orcs… Couldn't you have summoned me somewhere more pleasant?" Said something from behind the cloud.

The smoke quickly cleared, and left in its wake, a mighty fox, four tailed and red furred. It was so large that three people could have ridden on its back easily. Hinata simply looked in awe at the magnificent beast, and then had the sudden urge to pet it.

"Stop whining you fox, I summoned you, and now you gotta do something for me." Said Naruto

"Oh master, how can I humbly serve you this fine evening?" The fox sarcastically replied.

"Ha, ha, very funny. Now I need you to take us to a village a few miles that way," As he spoke, Naruto pointed down towards the road, "we only need you to bring us to the outskirts, we don't want to attract any attention."

"You two? Well, I can bring the girl, but you'll have to run along side, you look heavy." Complained the demon fox.

"Fine then, no treats for you." Threatened Naruto

"No treats! You threaten me with starvation! I have my pride you know!" Exclaimed the fox.

"Fine then, no treats for any fox I summon next time too."

"So what?"

"No treats for the next seven fox summons!"

"Grr, none of the other foxes would live me down for doing that… Fine… Hop on…" Complied the fox, turning and kneeling down, to allow the two better access to it's back.

"C'mon Hinata, it's fine, hop on!" Encouraged Naruto as he jumped on the foxes' back.

"I-if it's f-fine w-with f-fox-sama…" Hinata hesitantly said.

"No, it isn't fine." Complained the lazy fox

"Shut up you," He shouted at the fox, "now c'mon Hinata, take my hand." Reaching outwards for Hinata as he spoke.

"A-alright…" She whispered, and took Naruto's hand, and was promptly thrown on to the back of the fox.

"Hang on tight to me, Hinata-san…"

As Naruto finished, the fox bounded off, the trees and ground appearing to be nothing more than blurs. Wind whistled through Hinata's hair, causing it to whip about, stinging her eyes and causing her to turn her head, and noticed the four tails of the fox.

'Four tails? That's right, it's a fox demon… Naruto-san can summon fox demons! Maybe he's a sannin or something… Amazing!' Thought Hinata.

As Hinata turned her head, she saw the village Naruto spoke of in view. In a few moments, they covered what would have taken hours. She could see that there were still many people out and about, living their busy, daily lives.

"Alright, here's good fox." Commanded Naruto

The fox skid to a stop and kneeled, allowing the two to get off. Naruto promptly took out of his bag a small bun and tossed it into the mouth of the fox.

"There, now skedaddle!"

"Kami-sama, that tastes good…" Said the fox as he let the bun melt on its tongue and then vanished in a puff of smoke.

"N-Naruto-kun… What did you feed fox-sama?" Asked Hinata

"A bean bun, it's a rarity in their world, heh, and it's a common commodity around here. I bet you never thought you'd ever get to ride on a fox though, huh Hinata-san?"

"N-no, not in my wildest d-dreams… But does that m-make y-you a s-sanin?"

"I wish, but no, I'm just a regular genin."

"Genin? But you're really powerful Naruto-kun! How can you be a genin?" Hinata remarked, surprised at Naruto's low standing in the world.

"Well, lets just say I've spent most of my life training, and I've only just recently returned to the world. I'll tell you later, but we got to meet somewhere first." Explained Naruto.

Hinata nodded in compliance, and the pair headed towards the village. As they walked about, Hinata's stomache remembered a lost sensation: hunger. As she looked about, Hinata saw a fruit vendor selling the tastiest fruit she had ever seen, including her favorite fruit, apples.

"N-Naruto-kun, I'm sorry to bother you, but could we please buy some apples? I'm a little hungry…" She meekly asked.

"Sure Hinata-san, I'm a bit hungry myself." Agreed Naruto. Hinata swore she could hear some kind of mumbling along the lines of "It's not ramen, but it'll do, I guess…"

Upon reaching the vendor, Hinata looked amongst the apples until she found the perfect apple, and reached out to grab it, only to get it at the same time as another. As Hinata looked up to see who this other hand belonged to, she was greeted by white eyes.

"Hinata-sama?" Asked the white eyed member of the Hyuuga clan

"Neji-oniisan?" Hinata replied in turn.

"Hoy, Neji, why aren't you at the meeting spot?" Naruto said, hand clutching a shiny red apple.

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Author's Note: Heya, since spring break is coming up soon, I'll be able to update on a daily basis for a week or so, since I OUGHT to have nothing to do. Since this is the fifth chapter, I decided to make it a 2000 word chapter instead of the usual 1000ish, and it's dedicated to K-chan, my first reviewer. Thanks everyone, I hope to make this story and epic!


	6. Half an explanation & Eyebrows

"N-Neji-oniisan, what are you doing here?" Hinata questioned the equally confused Neji "Why aren't you in Konoha with your father?"

"I came to see you at the ceremony proclaiming you an official priestess, I'm aware that I am a day late, but why are you here? And with Naruto-san." Answered Neji with his own question

"I….I…" Hinata began, but Naruto cut her off.

"You can drop the act Neji, she knows…Sort of…"

"But that doesn't explain her being here… Did you succeed?"

"I'll tell you everything, but we should go where lips are smacked, it's a bit too easy to be overheard here." Naruto vaguely answered

Hinata simply stood there shocked. A dam had been loosened in her mind and a flood of thoughts uttered forth, 'Neji-oniisan and Naruto-kun know each other! Even worse, Neji-oniisan was in league with Naruto-kun! Does that mean that Neji-oniisan isn't the representative of the Hyuuga clan in Konoha anymore? Instead he defected completely to Konoha like I did! Oh, but this means that he's a traitor, and worse, he has the cursed seal! No-no-no, father will kill him, and uncle as well just because he was in Konoha! Oh, woe is me…' Hinata's index fingers nervously poked one another, engaging in a duel of sorts.

"Come Hinata-sama, Naruto-san and the others will help explain everything." Neji reassured her.

"Yeah Hinata-san, it must be confusing, but we'll try to explain as best we can." Naruto said, taking Hinata by the hand and leading her to the place "where lips are smacked"

"Ano…Ano…" Hinata only repeated as Naruto held her hand, a deep shade of crimson engulfing her face.

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"Is that them brother? They seem pretty cute." Said one of two figures sitting atop the branch of a very bushy tree, overlooking the small fruit stand.

"It'll pain me to tear those two apart, but master Zabuza and lord Hiashi commanded, and we as tools must obey." The other replied.

"How unfortunate."

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'Tavern of Twenty-Eight Spirits' Read Hinata as the three approached a tavern, abuzz with the talk of slurred drunks and rowdy youngsters.

"This may be a tavern, but its much safer in there than out here, we'll explain as to why once we get to our seats." Began Neji

The three squeezed into a booth a short distance from the entrance, Hinata and Naruto on one side and Neji on the other. From what could be seen, there was a bar with several very loud, very drunk men on the bar, and tables stationed around the center of the establishment with booths lining along the walls.

"Well Naruto-san, were you successful?" Continued Neji

"Nope, I screwed up big time" Naruto confessed, his head slamming against the table.

"W-why did you want to k-kill my father Neji-oniisan? I-I know you dislike him, but why do you wish for him to d-die? N-Naruto-kun told me it w-was t-to get the clan to rejoin Konoha, but t-there's m-more to that isn't there?" Hinata asked

"You are correct Hinata-sama, there is more to it. You know of the country of sound, correct?" Said Nejia, and Hinata nodded her head in response.

"Well, Konoha has noticed a much higher number of dealings with the country of sound. We feared that the Hyuuga clan may have entered a secret pact with him, so we thought that if we could assassinate your father, the dealings would fall apart with either you or Hanabi-sama as the new head." Explained Neji, pausing to think, "But this plan failed with Naruto-san's failure, but I fail to see how you managed to enter the picture."

"I'll explain that Neji, ya see, I met Hinata when I was snooping about during the ceremony-"

"I'm sorry about missing it, Hinata-sama, but it would've appeared strange that I arrived without an invitation." Interrupted Neji

"-As I was saying, we became fast friends, and so when I infiltrated the castle later that night, I had failed in killing Hiashi, and I attempted to use Hinata as a fake hostage to get them to lay off, but I accidentally ended up dragging her into the river." Naruto continued

"You jumped into the river with Hinata-sama, on accident. You're an idiot." Neji said, shocked and amazed at the stupidity of Naruto

"Well, those guards were the idiots, right Hinata-san?"

"Um…Y-yeah... T-they were i-idiots N-Naruto-kun…"

"See? When I tried to use Hinata as a hostage, they attacked me anyway and I ended up falling into the river."

" What kind of ninja are you? You were routed by mere guards."

"HEY!" Naruto shouted, arms swinging above his head. "Hiashi paralyzed my arm! It's not like I could've made a bunch of doppelgangers and beat the crap out of them!"

"Shut up you, you're making quite a great deal of noise." A voice came from the entrance.

Two figures entered the tavern, both wearing green kimonos and orange pleated shorts, hair tied exactly the same, same height, same body type. There were only two very obvious differences between the two. The first major difference of anatomical, one had breasts, the other did not. The second was ornamental, the male wore a mask, the female did not. The girl had a face that could only be described as cute, her body and face were accentuated with curves, causing her to appear to be more feminine than most women. Her face was painted on like a sadistic, carefree smile. The young man with the mask appeared to be more angular, his muscles apparently much more developed than the girl's, but not enough to be exceptionally noticeable, his mask the mark of a ninja hunter.

" I hate to break the three of you up, but we'll be needing the girl. The heads of powerful and influential clans don't like it when you kidnap their daughters. They don't deal with bandits. We however, kill bandits." The young woman between the pair said with a smile.

"Hey, what's wrong with you, they can't be bandits!" A voice came from the bar.

Another player joined the game, he wore a green Gi, the uniform of those who practice karate and other various martial arts, a black belt tied around his waist, the metallic plate indicating that he was a ninja of Konoha was sown onto the back of the belt. His hands were covered in bandages and he wore odd orange leg warmers on his shins. The most peculiar feature of him were his eyes. They were incredibly circular, three great eyelashes protruded from each one, and massive furry eyebrows shaded each one, his hair shaped not unlike that of a bowl.

"The blonde one and the lavender eyed one are obviously lovers!" The eyebrowed one shouted. Naruto and Hinata immediately blushed in response.

"I mean, look at the way they came in, he was holding her hand and acting as a gentleman should treat a lady. What most likely happened was that they eloped and are attempting to get the aid of her brother to try and get their father to understand the love between a noble and a peasent!" He rambled on

"You're annoying too. And your eyebrows annoy me as well." The girl said, and drew several acupuncture needles, all thrown at the bowl haired one

He easily snatched all of them out of the air, eight in all. He began inspecting the acupuncture needles, surprised that someone was using them in combat.

"Hey, you're the first person I've met to use acupuncture needles." He exclaimed.

"Surprised?" Responded the girl

"Not really. I use them too" He said, throwing the acupuncture needles and several more he had produced at the two, yet they harmlessly were embedded into the door and wall.

"I am Rock Lee! Acupuncturist slash martial artist by day, but assassin by night!" He shouted, going into a neutral bow fighting stance, one arm behind his back whilst the other led, his teeth were bared, which resulted in his teeth unnaturally sparkling.

"Amongst sticklers, etiquette follows that after introducing oneself, the other party introduces themselves."

"I am Haku, and she is my twin sister, Raharu." Said the man in the mask

"You seem like my kind of girl, and if you weren't trying to ruin the love of those two, then I'd ask you out, but the exuberance of youth keeps the burning candle of love alive! Perhaps you'd like to go out with me!" Continued Lee

"No, get away from me, you're crazy." Was all the reply that he got from Raharu

The tavern stood silently, for a place with twenty eight spirits, the drunks sat idly, their ale unattended as they stared at the strange transaction of words that had just occurred within the last ten minutes.

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Authors Note: I apologize for my lapse in writing; I've been playing Jade Empire… Again… And I've been playing it nonstop, and it looks like it may continue all spring break. It was already difficult just tearing myself away from the console, and even now it beckons me… Oh, and tell me you're thoughts on whether it was a good idea or not to give Haku a twin sister? He looked pretty lonely to me, and needed some family, you know?


	7. Uchiha Duo

Lee was crestfallen; the great green beast of Konoha was just rejected. Again.

"Oh Gai-sensei, why is it that girls turn me down left and right whenever I ask them out…I've asked out every pretty girl I've met today! I even asked out my enemy!" Lee rambled on to himself.

"Not to worry Lee, the exuberance of youth prevails! You'll eventually find a girl who'll love you!" Gai spoke in Lee's mind., taking his trademark nice guy pose

"Oh Gai-sensei! I understand now! I shall persevere!" Lee suddenly screamed

"Just like I said, crazy…" Said Raharu

"This Gai-sensei must be a bigger fool if he taught this fool." Haku added

"Hey, don't you dare insult Gai-sensei, Gai-sensei is amazing!" Lee continued to yell

"Lee… Shut up, you're making a scene." Came an annoyed and angered voice from one of the tables that were off to the side.

"Yeah Lee-kun, you really should stop rambling on, it freaks people out." Came another voice from the same table, this one feminine.

The possessors of the two voices stood up and positioned themselves next to Lee. The first was a raven haired swordsman, donning a black kimono with black armguards, a Nodachi attached to his back, a katana on his left hip, another on his right, and two wakizashi hung from the back of his belt. The fan shaped emblem of the Uchiha clan on his back, a Konoha headband upon his forehead.

The other individual was a pink haired girl, wearing a red vest that ended at her ribs, a fishnet shirt covering her abdomen and long sleeves that were tied to her arms by black bands. She wore a pink skirt and knee length, tight black shorts with black boots, on her back was the fan shape of the Uchiha clan as well. Her hands began to dress themselves in a pair of black gloves.

"New players hmm?" Mumbled Haku

"Who the hell are you two?" Demanded Raharu

"I am Uchiha Sasuke." Said the raven haired spook

"And I'm his wife, Uchiha Sakura." Said the pink haired woman.

"Ah, so you're the infamous Uchiha duo, hmm? The ninja of five blades and his wife, the bitching medic-nin with superhuman strength? You've got quite the write up in my bingo book." Haku responded

"Bitch! Who the hell would write that I bitch in their book!"

"Well, I see that they were right in that at least." Teased Raharu.

"It says here in my book," Said Haku as he produced a book from the folds of this clothes, "that you've penetrated hundreds of jutsu with your sharningan eye, almost as many as your even more famous teacher, the Copy Eye Kakashi, and that the medic-nin is credited with as keen an intelligence as your insanely powerful strength. However, my sister and I boast strength, skill and intelligence far beyond your own."

As he ended, Sasuke and Sakura tensed up, entering combat stances, Sasuke activating his trademark Sharningan eye, one hand upon the Nodachi upon his back and another on a katana on his hip.

"If you were smart, you'd leave then." Came Neji from the now forgotten booth, followed by Neji and Naruto getting out of the booth to stand beside their fellows, shortly joined by a timid Hinata, nervously standing beside Naruto, hand in hand.

"I see you've outnumbered us in a place of your choosing. No doubt this place is covered with traps and seals. We'll let you have her for now." Said Haku, slowly walking out the front door, followed by an obviously infuriated Raharu.

"You're lucky Haku-oniisan doesn't want to fight! I'll be back for your head fuzzy eyebrows." Yelled Raharu as she walked out.

"The exuberance of youth triumphs once more!" Shouted Lee as he took the trademark nice guy pose.

"Shut up Lee" Was Sasuke's simple remark, his eyes returning from its tri-pronged pupils to their single pupil look.

"Now Sasuke-kun, you said you'd try to be nicer to Lee, you promised!" Sakura nagged.

"But honey, he's an annoying, caterpillar eyed, snot nosed punk who never shuts up…" Sasuke began, only to be silenced by an angry Sakura

"Then I guess you won't be getting anything special later."

"B-but….B-but…."

"That's your punishment Sasuke-kun, and it stands!"

Now it was Sasuke who was crestfallen at the prospect of his one love in life not doing anything "special" for him that night.

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Haku and Raharu were still sitting upon the same tree from which they had first spotted Naruto and Hinata, eyes closed in deep meditation. Raharu broke the silence first.

"Well, water doppelgangers do have their uses…" She said as she stood up on the branch and stretched out her arms and legs, "What were you able to observe about our targets?"

"There are six of them." Haku began as he removed his mask, revealing a face identical to his sisters', "From what I could tell, three are taijutsu specialists, Hinata, the other Hyuuga and the green idiot, a blade master, Uchiha Sasuke, a medic, Uchiha Sakura, but I don't know enough about the blonde one."

"Why didn't you bother attacking? We would've at least seen what was happening at no cost to ourselves, and now we're marked and known as enemies."

"The entire building was covered in traps. Didn't you notice how many acupuncture needles flew into the wall?"

"No really, unlike you oniisan, I'm a femme fatal, I like killing people, not watching them."

"There were more needles than there were in his hands. Several more needles appeared from underneath several tables directly next to him. They were probably instructed to follow the initial needles, activated probably by the green one's chakra, which explains why we weren't attacked as you threw the first needles and he obviously aimed around us."

"The green one was named Lee, right?"

"Why should you care?"

"He was fast, maybe as fast as you or me. He's cute, in annoying way, too bad we have to kill them."

"Yes, how unfortunate. Come, we must report to master Zabuza, we'll orchestrate an attack " He spoke, yet by the time he finished, there was nothing more than mist where he once sat.

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The group of six began to gather at the C-shaped booth that Neji, Hinata and Naruto were sitting at just prior, Sasuke still depressed and scowling, and Lee still beaming with the exuberance of youth.

"So Naruto-san, who's the girl? Don't tell me you picked up a girlfriend while you were attacking the Hyuuga castle." Questioned Sasuke, his mood still foul.

"Shut up Sasuke, now you all better listen up. I'm getting tired of repeating the damn story." Said Naruto

"Naruto, you only began once, and that was interrupted." Corrected Neji

"Shut up and listen. I had infiltrated the Hyuuga castle as a monk, I met Hinata, became good friends, sneaked in later that night, attempted to kill off Hiashi, and then chased by guards who chased me to Hinata-san's room," In mid sentence Naruto and Neji's eyes clashed for a moment, "and I tried using Hinata as a decoy, but they ended up pushing us back, falling into the river, and NO! I couldn't use any jutsu and kill them all instantly because Hiashi had paralyzed my arm earlier. Then I got the crap beat out of me by rocks, and Hinata ended up almost drowning, but I gave her CPR, then she asked me if she could come with me to Konoha." Finished Naruto

"So that's it in a nutshell?" Asked Neji

"Yes"

"Hinata-sama, is this all true?"

"Y-yes Neji-oniisan, its all true, but I d-didn't know t-that I had d-drowned…" Answered Hinata, her mind making new connections.

'Naruto-kun gave me CPR? Mouth to mouth resuscitation? OHMYGOD! He kissed me! Well, it doesn't count as a kiss does it? I mean, he was just saving my life and all. Maybe that's what was going on in my dream then… I'm over thinking this too much, I should just listen and ask Naruto-kun later.'

"Did you kill Hiashi, Naruto?" Sasuke asked.

"No."

"Great, we give you one simple thing, and you blow it."

"Hey, shut up! I tried my best, and I almost killed him if he hadn't had screwed up my arm, you crap!"

"Umm, N-Naruto-kun, w-why is it t-that Neji-oniisan is helping you kill my father? Doesn't he have a cursed seal? If Neji-oniisan is found out to helping you, you'll be killed!"

"Do not worry Hinata-sama, our new Hokage is an amazing doctor. She was able to discover how to reverse the seal after looking through the archives, and was able to remove my seal, as well as my father's"

"R-really? T-thank goodness! I-is t-that a-another reason why you decided to strike now?"

"You are correct Hinata-san! Because we had found a reversal for the curse, we were hoping to promise the branch house freedom as well!" Lee added

"But what about you Hinata-san? Why are you here? Aren't you the heir to the Hyuuga house?" Sakura asked, beginning her own set of questions.

"W-well…I-it's…I-it's b-because…" Hinata began, only to be cut off by Naruto

"Hinata-san left because she hates the place! Its full of stiffs who think she's weak, but she's not! She's brave, and strong! Stronger than even you Neji!" He yelled, attempting to remedy Hinata's nervousness with his own boldness.

"That makes sense, Hanabi-sama had defeated Hinata-sama easily two years ago, and she's been disgraced since. It doesn't matter how powerful she is now, only that she lost once, a time ago. What I don't get is why Hiashi-sama didn't just marry you off." Neji remedied, helping to authenticate Naruto and Hinata's statement.

"W-well N-neji-oniisan, it's because most of the influencial nobles that have sons are afraid of us now. We're feared because of our kekkai-genkai outside of Konoha. They don't want to be dragged into a conflict that would kill their entire clan, and those ninja clans that do wish to wed me are our enemies. F-father w-wished to h-have t-the c-c-cursed s-seal put upon me l-later…" Said Hinata, faltering towards the end.

"Screw them Hinata-san! You've got me now, us now!"

"Yeah Hinata-san, now we've got another girl in the group. I was getting sick of traveling with these guys, no finesse or cleanliness at all, including Naruto, and except my wuvy Sasuke." Said Sakura, giving Sasuke a light peck on the cheek.

"Well, now we must rest our weary bodies! The explosion of youth can keep us going fo-evah, but life is much easier with rest!" Exploded Lee

"You're right eyebrows, we should get to the inn, I'd like to take a bath, you're talk of youth is starting to become a rank smell upon my skin." Sasuke said, still scowling

"HEY! I thought that maybe I'd let you off on good behavior, but not anymore!"

Sasuke looked downwards once more. He was beginning to dislike being whipped like this, and began yearning for those bachelor days once more, when they were together, separately.

"Come, let us go forth, to the inn!" Yelled Lee

"C'mon, whoever's last is gets to have the honor of kissing my ass!" Challenged Naruto as he left in a rush

Upon reaching the inn, Naruto had the unfortunate pleasure of kissing his own ass

"Dammit!" Yelled Naruto as he planted the first kiss to his right cheek, much to the laughter of his fellows, and even Hinata giggled a bit.

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Author's note: Sorry for the lapse in updates, this time my excuse is that I got lost upon the road of life, and I was unable to find a quiet moment to sit down and collect my thoughts. Instead I ended up writing a haiku that I unfortunately lost and never remembered. Oh well, easy come, easy go.


	8. Tweats Pwease!

Warm water, rushing, sliding, rising into the air. There are few other sensations that most would believe to be equal to the feel of warm water washing over the body, and those who believe there to be an equal to a soak in hot springs find it in the embrace of another, in waking up to find themselves in the loving arms of another. Two such people who believed that an embrace could be equal to the cleansing waters were Hyuuga Hinata and Uchiha Sakura, gently lowering themselves into the spring of heat that the inn had so generously provided to all of its guests.

The bath itself was quite expansive, a small fall of water atop a hill of stones fed the hot spring, the walls enclosing it painted to emulate the sensation of drifting within the sea. Even the very door by which the two had entered was painted as to appear to be a single small island floating in their midst.

Hyuuga Hinata stretched her arms and allowed the warm water to relax her of all tension, her mind reflecting upon the past day, amazed at how quickly her life had changed. As she stared at her reflection in the water, a voice broke the silence.

"So Hinata-san, what's your relationship to Naruto?" Sakura asked from across the pool

"H-he i-is m-my f-friend… My best friend…" Replied Hinata after a long pause.

"Naruto has that effect on people, he can make friendships and connect with others quite easily." Commented Sakura

"M-may I ask w-why you call N-Naruto-kun by name only? And w-why h-he addresses e-everyone b-by f-first n-name as w-well?"

"Oh, that, well Naruto is the closest thing I have to a brother, and he has the same relationship with everyone else in our little family. You're one of the few people I've met that Naruto called with a suffix though, so in truth I should be asking you, why is it that Naruto calls you Hinata-san, and not simply Hinata like he would with most others?"

"I….I…I d-don't k-know…"

"Well that's all right, there's a lot I know about him as a sister, like what's his favorite food and when he goes to sleep, but he has so many different faces, I don't know him as a friend as well as I should."

"Y-You all came from K-Konoha?" Hinata said after another long moment of silence in an attempt to change the subject

"Yeah, we're all from Konoha, born and raised."

"I too was born there, but right after I was born, the clan left… Do you think I might've known you all had I stayed?"

"Probably…"

"M-may I-I a-ask a-another q-question?"

"Go right ahead"

"W-why d-did y-you g-get m-married to S-sasuke-kun? I don't mean to p-pry… But y-you s-seem r-really y-young f-for someone to marry f-for l-love…"

"Oh, that's all right. Sasuke-kun, Naruto and I were on the same team as genins, why we're still on the same team now. Sasuke-kun and Naruto were always fighting back then, they seemed to be foils of one another almost, Sasuke calm, cool and collected, and Naruto loud, obnoxious and unpredictable. Despite our constant fighting, we were as closely knit as family, until one day, Sasuke was tempted for power and betrayed us to join the sound country. Naruto brought him back though, both of them were barely breathing when Kakashi-sempai brought them back. When Sasuke woke up, he seemed changed. You know of Uchiha Itachi, right?"

"Y-you m-mean t-the S classed criminal?"

"Yeah, Sasuke-kun's only goal up to that point in life had been to kill him, for Itachi had murdered Sasuke-kun's entire clan, and as Itachi's brother, Sasuke-kun saw it has his duty to kill him. Yet, something happened during Naruto and Sasuke-kun's that caused him to look beyond revenge, and the moment he woke up and looked into my eyes, he proposed to me."

"T-that…S-sounds s-so r-romantic…"

"I was so happy, Naruto was bounding up and down, begging to be the best man, and Sasuke-kun smiled so freely during that time, that I wished that it would never end. But right after the wedding, it was back to hard, back breaking training. For the past three years, I've been the apprentice of Tsuande-sama, our lord Hokage. Naruto was whisked away to train with Jiaraya the toad Sennin, and Sasuke-kun was trained by several members of the elite Anbu corps."

"You're all so amazing…"

"Well Naruto thinks you're amazing too. He only makes complements when he means it, and from what I heard him say, I'd think you could probably stand toe to toe with Neji, and I can barely do that."

"H-he m-meant i-it? R-really?" Said Hinata, her face turning beet red and the temperature of the water around her heating up to the point of near boiling.

"Why do you get so weird when…" Sakura began, only to stop herself in mid sentence, a mischievous smile creeping upon her face. "Oh ho ho, could it be that the beautiful daughter of the leader of the Hyuuga clan…" Sakura said menacingly as she swam over to the lavender eyed girl.

"W-what d-do y-y-you m-mean?" Hyuuga Hinata urgently stuttered, attempting to back as far back into the wall of the pool as possible.

"L-L-Loves Uzumaki Naruto?" She said mockingly as she sat next to the Hyuuga girl.

"…" Was Hinata's only response

"Tee hee hee, Naruto has an admirer!"

"Please…."

Meanwhile, in the bath reserved for men, the boys were all basking in the heat of a hot spring that was an exact mirror of the woman's bath. Unlike the women's bath however, Sasuke had brought his weapons in, for he felt a bit too exposed without them. All were simply soaking in their own little corner, save for Lee who was practically drowning under the waterfall.

"Lee-san, why are you underneath the fountain?" Neji asked as one of his white eyes took a peek at where Lee was drowning

"Yes Lee-san, tell us your good reason for polluting the water." Added Sasuke

"I am testing myself against the hardness of hot water, as Gai-sensei did!" Lee exclaimed, only to have hot water pouring into his throat and lungs, resulting in him violently coughing.

"I thought Sakura told you to stop being mean to Lee, Sasuke. Or is it that Sasuke the great is a whipped dog that's jealous of the beautiful azure beast of the forest?"

"Shut up."

"Thought so."

The silence continued, until it was broken by Sasuke.

"So, can we really trust her?"

"What the hell do you mean ass?"

"How sure are you that she isn't a spy working for Hiashi, or Orochimaru?"

"How are we sure you're not working for Orochimaru?"

"Don't bring that up."

"I doubt she's a spy. A priestess and warrior Hinata is, a liar she is not. It's one of the other reasons why Hiashi did not wish for her to become the clan leader, she's a horrible liar, and it would make it difficult for her to become a player on the inter-clan scale." Neji broke in

"Yeah Sasuke, she's too kind and gentle to be an asshole spy!" Naruto added

"Don't get so angry, I just want to make sure." Retorted Sasuke, followed by a short pause before beginning to speak once more, "Or is it that you have a special connection with the girl?"

"Connection? Make some sense baka!"

"Do you like her, baka?"

"Of course I like her! Who couldn't like her!"

"I mean more than that, are you enamored with her, do you love her?"

"Do you have a relationship with my cousin, Naruto-san?" Added Neji

"Yosh! For once my instincts were right! Naruto-kun and Hinata-chan are lovers, and eloped!" Lee chirped in, only to begin drowning in the water once more.

"No! No! No! It's nothing like that, Hinata-san was simply a kind person that wanted help, and I felt obligated to help her!" Naruto attempted to defend himself

"As long as it doesn't interfere with your capacity to fight, I don't care." Sasuke simply shrugged.

"Screw off Sasuke, unless you want me to tell Sakura that you've been cruel to Lee-san, and make sure you won't be screaming in ecstasy with her any time soon."

"You wouldn't dare." Said Sasuke, reaching for his Katana

"Oh, I would!" Said Naruto, biting his thumb, wiping the blood across his palm and forming several hand seals, then placing his hand on the stone floor next to the bath, summoning a kit, a baby fox.

"Hewo Nawuto-sempai! Do you have any tweats for me?" The adorable little fox asked

"Go to Sakura and tell her this…" and then Naruto began whispering into the little kit's ears. "…And ask them for your treat, and don't forget to say please."

"Tweats Pwease!" and the little kitsune diappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Damn you, Naruto, damn you and your foxes."

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Authors Note: I really need to find a regular rhythm to writing, feels a bit too unpredictable as to when I update, hmm? Well I've been addicted to playing RO, on EShadowRO, a private server since I'm too poor to play on the pay to play servers. My main char's name is Hyuuga Akimoto, since hey, Hyuuga's are the coolest! I'll help you out if you come play. Well, I'm off dreaming up the next chapter!


	9. Dreams

_'The dream. It was always the same dream. Since I was nothing more than a child, I've had this dream, always the same, never changing. In that dream, I am always a being of mass destruction and chaos, of infinite power, of a god. Yet, in my arms, I mournfully hold a young man in my arms; lament coursing through my very soul. He weighs nothing, he feels of nothing, there is not substance, only image. He had blonde hair and whiskered cheeks, yet I have never heard his voice call out or stared longingly into his eyes. I call out, _

"_No, you cannot leave me, you cannot take him! He is mine, mind, body and soul! Don't dare take him from me! He is mine, forever more!"_

_Yet the dream is different. I can see his eyes, blue, brilliant azure. His mouth moves not, yet I hear his voice in my mind's eye, images of love and warmth flashing by. He still lays motionless in my arms, yet I can feel him, I feel substance and yet, he breathes not, his body cold. A single windswept image materialized in front of me as I lay with my love, a shadow, not a man, his eyes red, four pupils stare back at me. I call out as I did before._

_"No, you cannot leave me, you cannot take him! He is mine, mind, body and soul! Don't dare take him from me! He is mine, forever more! He is my love, my Naruto, mine! Please, don't take him from me…"_

_Tears flow freely from my eyes, landing upon his face. _

_Nothing…Nothing…Nothing…Nothing…Nothing…Nothing…Nothing…_

"_No… No… No… No… No… Nono…Nonono….Nonononononononono!" I cry out, bringing my hands to my head, and then I fall limply upon him, I fall upon Naruto._

Hinata awoke with a yell, bolting upright and scanning her surroundings. She was where she had fallen asleep. Immediately after the bath, she went straight to her room and fell fast asleep, wearing the pair of pajamas Sakura had lent her. She looked over to the chair nearby and saw the "disguise" Sakura had lent her. A black leather jacket with the symbols for "rain" upon its back, written in white. A pair of blue plaited pants and a plain blue shirt accompanied the jacket. To finish it off, a spare Konoha head band was there, meant to cover her eyes whilst using her Byakugan to see through it, making it near impossible to tell she was a member of the Hyuuga clan, only blind.

She closed her eyes and began to meditate on her dream. This was the first time she had seen his face, his true face, and his face was Naruto's. She experienced this dream a million times, yet this was the first time she had known his identity. What did it all mean? She had no idea. As she began digging deeper, she heard what sounded like a growl.

Hinata opened her eyes, and noticed a little lump moving underneath her blanket, growling as if wrestling with the blanket. Two thoughts entered her mind, scream and run outside, or to remove the blanket and see what was underneath. Against her better judgment, she picked number two. Hinata hesitantly moved her hand towards the quivering lump, then yanked the blanket off. Underneath was the cutest little fox Hinata had ever seen.

"Hewo, do you know whewe Sakuwa is?" The little fox replied.

"Uh..Um…A-are you one of N-Naruto-kun's foxes?"

"Yosh! Nawuto told me to tell Sakuwa something!"

"W-well, I'll bring you to her." She agreed, scooping up the little fox and leaving the little room.

Hinata and the little fox exited and began walking down the long hall. As she looked for Sakura's door number, she realized how large this inn was, incredibly massive. As she walked, she decided to learn a little bit about Naruto from the bouncing little fox in her arms.

"S-so little kit, what's your name?

"My name's Meiji! What's yours?"

"I'm Hinata, Meiji-kun"

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Author's note: Yeah, I know this chapter's short as hell, but I'm currently drawing a doujin version of the fanfic, so that's my pathetic excuse for not updating sooner, or that this chapter is any longer. That, and I'm addicted to RO still.


	10. Lust

"So Meiji-kun, how old are you?" Hinata asked as she walked down the long corridor, peering from door number to door number in an extended search to findSakura's room

The kit's brow furrowed in concentration, attempting to remember his age, "I'm going on five in 11 months!" He said after a few moment's pause.

"Oh, so it was your birthday last month Meiji-kun?"

"Yups! Nawuto-sempai gave me a little bell for my birthday, because he said mommy was getting worried when I'd disapear."

"Really? Where's your bell now? I don't think your mother, or Naruto-kun would like it if you didn't have it on."

"Oh yeah! Umm... Leme go get it!" And in a poof, he disappeared, Hinata guessed into the demon world, to go and fetch his bell. It was a short wait however,for a few moments later, Meiji reappeared before Hinata in a great cloud of smoke, wearing a gold bell suspended beneath his head with a red and white ribbon.

"Meiji-kun, you look very good with your bell on!" Complemented Hinata, reaching down and scooping up the little fox.

"Twank you Hinata-chan." He eagerly replied, snuggling up against Hinata's arm

"So Meiji-kun, who's your mommy?" Said Hinata after walking for a few moments.

"My mommy's Kyuubi." Meiji mumbled, aparently falling asleep in her arms.

"Really? How neat..." Hinata said, confused by the statement.

'Well that's strange, if he was born five years ago, then how did Kyuubi give birth to him? Kyuubi was destroyed 15 years ago by the fourth Hokage... I'll ask Naruto about it later.'

"Well, what about your favorite food Meiji-kun, what is it?" Hinata continued. Immediatly the tired little fox's head pirked up.

"My favorite food in the whole, whole, whole wide world is Ice Cream!" The kit said with great enthusiasm.

"My my, well if it's your favorite food, then I'll go buy some for you after you go and tell Sakura-san what you wanted to tell her."

"Wreally?"

"Really."

"Yay! Ice Cream, Ice Cream, Ice Cream!. I love ice cream almost as much as Nawuto-sempai loves ramen."

"Naruto-san likes ramen?"

"Naruto-san loves ramen! He once told me he used to live for two things, to become Hokage and ramen, but now he tells me he lives for three reasons."

"Oh? And what's this third reason?"

"I dunno. He never tells me."

"Well I'll get Naruto-san to tell me some time, and then I'll tell you."

"Hmm, maybe the third thing is ice cream?"

So the two continued to ponder on what that third thing Naruto held so dear, but it was quickly cut short when Hinata had finally found Sakura's room.

"Number...254... Yup, this is it Meiji-kun. After this we'll go buy you some ice cream." She said, knocking on the door.

After a few moments of hearing russtling, yelling, and interrogations as to whos underwear is whos, the door was opened by a groggily eyed, tired Sakura.

Rubbing her eyes and yawning, Sakura noticed that it was Hinata who had knocked, and she was holding the adorable little kit Meiji, who had informed herof many things in the past five years at Naruto's request.

"Heya Hinata-san, what're you doin here?" She groggily said, quickly followed by a yell in the back and Hinata's quick glimpse of Sasuke in his boxers drinking from what it appeared to be a milk carton.

"Who is it Sakura?"

"It's Hinata-san, she's got Meji-kun with her."

Of course, Sasuke nearly spit up his milk hearing this. He had thought he was lucky that Meiji hadn't found Sakura and told her whatever Naruto wanted Sakura to find out. In Sasuke's experience, this either meant one of two things, something good, or something bad.

"So what can I do for ya Meiji-kun and Hinata-san?" Sakura continued, still yawning.

"Oh, well M-Meiji-kun wanted to tell you something."

"Really? Well out with it little guy."

"It's a secwet though, I gotsta whisper it to ya!" The little fox almost chirped.

"Alright," Sakura said, leaning in and listening to the fox's hushed voice, accompanied by the occasional "yeah" and "mmm-hmm..".

"And that's it" Meiji finished

"Okay, well thanks for tell me Meji-kun. Oh, and Hinata, here's some money to buy Meiji a treat downstairs, there should be a stall open on the bottom floor." And with that, Sakura threw a couple of bills into Hinata's hands and shut the door. From what Hinata could hear from the muffled conversation between

Sasuke and Sakura, it went a little something like this:

"Well Sasuke-kun, it sounds like you've been a bit bad to Lee-san..." Sakura began, followed by a very audiable "Uhh..."

"But it sounds like you could use a bit of a reward for trying so hard."

"Umm... Sakura-chan...Why're you getting out your leather clothes? And why do you have that whip?"

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, I've wanted to try this out for a long time..."

"Oh no..."

After that, yells of "Sasuke-kun" and "Sakura-chan!", as well as moans, lashings, and the occasional bang against the wall. Hinata however immediatly covered Meiji's ears and started walking downstairs. After they got downstairs, Hinata removed her hands from Meiji's ears.

"Hinata-chan, what was that all about?"

"Umm, nothing, nothing at all. Now what about that ice cream?"

"Yay Ice Cream! Get me strawberry ice cream Hinata-hime!"

"Okay okay.."

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Whilst that was all going on, Naruto was out in the backyard of the inn, meditating on a large boulder next to a waterfall.

'hmm, how did I fire the Rasengan?'

As a test, Naruto charged up a Rasengan and threw it up into the air. However, it didn't get far up and exploded in mid-air with very minimal force.

'hmm, maybe I should cover it with a layer of Chakra that's meant to stay adhesive with the orb until the Rasengan burns through it...'

Once again, Naruto charged up the Rasengan, but with an added layer of non-swirling Chakra to cover it. He fired it off into the sky, and it exploded with more force, but still not as much as it had when he hit Hiashi.

'Perhaphs a layer of chakra flowing the opposite way will keep the excess chakra from escaping?'

For test number three, Naruto charged up the Rasengan and covered in a second field of flowing chakra. With minimal force, he fired it into the air again, and it worked just as well as the second test.

'What if I combine the two, then after a certain time limit, allow the fields to collapse into the Rasengan, and then creating the internal Rasengan combustion with Kyuubi chakra?'

And so test four was initiated, he created a Rasengan orb with Kyuubi chakra, followed by two dams of his own chakra to form an absorbable shield. He then launched it into the air, and it flew far into the sky, almost like fireworks, and just like fireworks, exploded, depositing rays of light and sparks into the night sky.

"So, the little kit's getting smart about using his chakra?" That same angry, female voice appeared.

"Shut up" Naruto replied

"Oh, now, don't be so curel to me kit. After you let the girl play that song, it caused me to sleep again. I missed everthing and I had to watch it from within your subconcious." She said, and so Kyuubi materialized next to Naruto on the boulder, a young woman with blonde hair, nine fox tails, fox ears, and a blue kimmono.

"What do you mean sleep?"

"That girl has a gift. When she plays that Ocarina made from MY chakra, she has control over me based on the song."

"Oh, well that's useful, I better let her keep it."

"It'd make a good first gift for a up and coming suitor, after all."

"Hey! Hinata-san's just a good friend." Naruto yelled, eyes still closed as if attempting to ignore the fox.

"Oh really. Your thoughts betray you." She replied.

Moments later, Naruto felt hands carressing his chest, arms draped across his shoulders and the cheek of another rubbing against his own. When he opened his eyes, he saw not Kyuubi, but Hinata.

"W-wha? Hinata-san, what're you doing! NO, you can't be Hinata, stop it Kyuubi!"

"B-but Naruto-kun, how could you say that? I'm Hinata, your one and only Hinata." She whispered into his ear, then licking his ear.

"W-wait, H-H-Hinata-san c-could n-never d-do t-this!" He stammered, trying to get away, but Hinata clung on to his hand, causing him to face Hinata.

"Naruto-kun, don't be like that. You know I like you, I care for you deeply." She said, taking his hand and bringing it to her chest.

"Feel that Naruto-kun? It's my heart. You are my one and only, it beats only for you. I love only you." As she spoke, a deep crimson blush came upon Hinata's face, as well as Naruto's. He was barely listening to her words, in fact, she was much to proccupied by the feeling of Hinata's breasts.

"Oh Naruto, take me!" Hinata suddenly said, leaping upon him and pinning Naruto down, staring into his eyes.

"I want you to feel me, inside-out, Naruto-kun. I want a fox inside me." She whispered once more into Naruto's ear, then began to kiss Naruto all along his cheek, then chin and then down to his neck. She continued to draw a line of kisses, untying Naruto's obi and tearing apart his yukata. She stopped at his navel, and then came up to Naruto's face and began giving him an incredibly passionate kiss.

"B-b-b-but." Naruto said flabbergasted, panicing, and straight out on the verge of fainting.

"Heh, normally girls don't effect you like that Naruto-kun, but I guess she's an exception, hmm?" Kyuubi appeared, staring down at the two, Hinata in the middle of removing Naruto's clothes, and Naruto stunned and paralyzed.

"Y-y-you.." Naruto said, barely able to find the words to come out of his lips.

"Heh, yes, me, me, me." She said, snapping her fingers, causing Hinata to disappear.

"I hate you!" He yelled.

"N-Naruto-kun, who're you talking to? And why is your yukata all messed up?" Said another Hinata, coming from the inn and with a fox in her arms, gleefully licking an ice-cream cone.

"Is this the real Hinata?" Thought Naruto, asking Kyuubi.

"Of course she is, and she has my son in her arms, spoiling him with treats. Oh well, at least he has his bell on." She sighed, hands on hips and shaking her head.

"Heya mommy!" Meiji cried out

"Hi Meiji-kun. Did you tell Hinata-san thank you?"

"No mommy. Thank you Hinata-hime!" Meiji said, but Hinata was obviously confused. While Naruto and Meiji could see Kyuubi, Hinata could not. And So she stood there confused, for several moments until Naruto called her.

"Oh,hi Hinata-san. What're you doing here?" He said, while fixing his yukata and jumping off the small boulder.

"Well, Meiji-kun saw the fireworks, and I thought it'd be better to watch them back here, but we already missed them."

"Oh, sorry about that Meiji-kun, that was me."

"Nawuto-sempai can make fireworks? NEAT! Teach me, teach me!" He shouted from Hinata's arms, ice cream dripping off of his nose.

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Authors Note:Sorry about not updating. I've been a bit busy lately, but I'll try and get more chapters out soon.


	11. Fireworks

Fireworks, the light of a star, in the hands of men, used to inspire terror, fear, as well as amazement and admiration. In Naruto's case, a combination of a chronically shy Hinata and a psychotically hyper baby fox named Meiji caused all four. In the case of Hinata, Naruto's skill imposed great amazement and admiration for the ninja, who knew that he could make an amazing specktical in the palm of his hand? In Hinata's eyes, the Rasengan looked more beautiful in Naruto's hand, whether it be due to the fact it appeared to be a swirling nexus of light, or simply becuase Naruto was holding it, or perhaphs both. Hinata thought if she were to look into it with the Byakugan, she thought it would appear to be almost like the swirling sun in the palm of his hand. As the three sat on the small boulder, Hinata almost reached out for the swirling sphere, its appearance so mesmerizing, only to be stopped by Naruto.

"Eh, Hinata-san, you shouldn't really touch it, even though it looks really pretty, its really dangerous." Naruto explained as he pulled the Rasengan away from Hinata and Meiji

"I-I'm s-sorry N-Naruto-kun, it just looks so pretty..." She replied as she stared into the orb.

"Dangewous? Then it must be a super, duper, ultra, mega, awesome technique!" Meiji quickly pointed out.

Ah, Meiji, the hyperactive little fox that was the son of Kyubbi, and almost Naruto's familiar. Almost. Now for him, the rasengan also inspired amazement and admiration, but thanks to Meiji, not for Naruto. With Meiji's constant hopping around and attempts to touch the rasengan, like a familiar little child who just didn't learn, Naruto feared that Meiji might just jump into the full force of the Rasengan. What inspired even more terror, was that Meiji would interrupt Naruto's firing arc and cause the Rasengan to fire off into something, or someone.

"C'mon Nawuto-sempai, teach me how to use the technique!" The little kit begged, bounding out and around Naruto, much to his dismay and much to the laughter of both Kyuubi and Hinata

"Teach it to him boy, so when he returns to the demon world, he'll be significantly more powerful than the other pups his age." Kyuubi concurred, also much to Naruto's dismay

"Alright, I'll teach it to you Meiji, but only under one condition, and that's if Hinata plays another awe-inspiring performance."

"Hinata-hime, play for Naruto-sempai, please, please, please, super, duper uper please! Please with sugar on the top with the cherry too!" Little Meiji-kun begged and pleaded. Hinata couldn't say no. Naruto in the background however was mouthing no and shaking his head.

"Okay Meiji-kun, I'll play it for you, since you asked so nicely." She agreed, tapping the little fox on the nose

"What! She's going to actually play! Damn it brat, make her stop! I don't know what her song will do to me!" The Kyubbi yelled, grabbing Naruto by the throat and throttling him. To Naruto's credit, Hinata didn't see anything, and Meiji didn't really care.

And so Hinata dug the fox shaped wind instrument from the folds of her yukata and brought the mouthpiece, the litteral mouth of the fox shapped ocarina, to her lips, and softly blew. A cascading sound of high notes reached their ears, sounding oh so melodic, an inner-feeling of peace was roused within all four. As the pace wore on, the notes began to inetermediate between high and low, creating a feeling of elation that Naruto hadn't had in the longest time, Hinata was only just experiencing, and Meiji never had the prior joy of feeling. Her song lasted on for several minutes, the water behind them swirling, ebbing, and flowing along the small waterfall, and soon Hinata played as if by a trance, and Kyuubi had reclied upon her side, her eyes feeling both drooping and wide open.

"I like this feeling, kit, it feels like alpha waves, you know?" Kyuubi managed to just barely mumble. Naruto simply silenced her by a mental "shh"

It finally ended, the last note inspiring feeling and energy into even the ancient Kyuubi. They all sat in a trance as Hinata put down the ocarina. After a few moments of simply staring at her, Kyuubi began to clap, then Naruto and finally even Meji got to clapping.

"T-thank you Naruto-kun, Meiji-kun." She said, a blush all over her face.

"Fine then, a deals a deal, but first I'll have to show you the technique, and its name is Rasengan. Watch very, very closly." Naruto said, forming the sphere in his hands, this one meant to be fired.

"I've already seen it pleanty of times Nawuto-sempai! Teach it to me now!" Meiji yelled, jumping on Naruto as he was about to fire. This messed up Naruto's aim. Incredibly badly. The misaimed sphere went sailing towards the inn, and as if in slow motion, Naruto saw one of the rooms explode.

"Oh no Naruto-kun! That was my room! A-all of the clothes S-Sakura-san l-leant me were in there too!" Hinata said with dismay.

"Err.. Umm... Sorry Naruto-sempai!" Meiji appologized, and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Damn you Meiji!" Naruto yelled.

Several yells were followed afterwards, some of them he could discern were of his fellow teammates,

"NARUTO-KUN! I'LL BURN YOU! THEN BURN THOSE ASHES! THEN SEND YOU TO HELL AND KILL YOU!" A very angry girl yelled, most likely the pink haired Sakura

"No...No...The rabbits..They're.. They're taking... NO! THEY'RE STEALING THE FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH!" Shouted a drunk sounding youth

"Naruto, not again..." Came an agitated voice. "And just when it was getting good too"

"Dear kami-sama no! We're under attack!" Yelled one very distrot individual, and out leapt from the smouldering room came Neji

"Don't worry Neiji-onichan, we're not under attack...N-Naruto-kun...Just...Sort..Of..Missed.." Hinata managed to explain.

"Great, now we have to pay for repairs..." Sighed Neji

"Don't worry Hinata-san, you can sleep in my room, I'll get you some new clothes." Naruto assured her

"And what about the money?" Neji demanded

"I can beat up a few muggers." Naruto yelled as he jumped the fence, leaving Hinata and Neji to deal with the mess.

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Naruto leaped from rooftop to rooftop. He scanned the city that was forever covered in soot and echoed of clangs and clashes, for it was a mining town.

"Hey Fox, where's that temple of yours supposed to be in this place?" Naruto mentally asked the Kyuubi as he stopped for a moment on the top of some fish statue to get a bearing on his surrondings

"Wait a moment kit, the girl's song is still playing through my head." Kyuubi said as she appeared next to Naruto, humming the tune and waving her finger about as if commanding an orchestra.

"I need it now fox."

"Fine, fine," Kyuubi immediately agreed, still in her good mood, and pointed in some general direction, and then suddenly in Naruto's sight, a building began to glow, "There Kit, its over there. Now shuddup and let me listen."

The glowing building was in fact a five story pagoda, complete with its own zen garden and massive Kyuubi statue. Naruto was surprised that he could even make out the glow due to all the soot and fog that radiated from the many iron forges in the town.

Naruto leapt off the fish statue, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, until he landed on top of the statue of the nine tailed fox. His ears were immediately assailed by an old monk's scholding.

" You hooligan! Get off the statue of our beloved god, Kyuubi! King of verility and destruction!" The old monk yelled, broomstick in hand as if sweeping the yard.

" Hmph, Kyuubi's female, you idiot." Naruto yelled back, leaping off the fox statue and next to the monk. "You dare insult the container of your great god?"

" You rambunctious youth! How dare you presume such a thing!"

" Look and see, you old fool."

Naruto was of course, no bluff, and summoned the innate powers of Kyuubi, forming nine tails behind him, and giving him a visage of a fox. If there was any doubt in the monk's mind, it was gone now.

"My lord Kyuubi! Forgive my arrogance!" He yelled, and lay prostrate on the ground, begging for forgiveness. "I shall fetch the others quickly my lord!" He said feverently, running back into the pagoda before Naruto could even respond.

In moments, the entire pagoda awoke, lights suddenlly flickering on as word spread like fire. Mere minutes later, the doors burst forth a great spectacle of light and sound. A great throne was being carried by four monks, mounted upon two sticks. Several dozen monks were marching next to the great throne, singing their hymn, and yet more from behind were playing instruments of great cheer.

"What fan-fare!" Kyuubi remarked.

"My lord, here is your seat, it is not much, but we hope to humbly serve you as best we can." Came the same monk from early, who had just scolded Naruto.

"Heh, I've never seen you go through so much trouble for a woman, not even that other girl you once claimed as your own." The nine-tailed fox remarked. Naruto said nothing.

"I need not such attention, servants. Try to keep in on the down-low, you know?" Naruto remarked after several moments of silence.

"Yes my liege, it shall not happen with such blatant obviousness again! Forgive us!" The head monk begged once more, bowing, along with all the other monks.

"I only require the battle garb of the last female champion."

"Y-yes Kyuubi-sama! We shall fetch it for you!" And with that, several more monks came streaming out, accompaning the holy relic.

"May I ask Kyuubi-sama, shall there be a new champion of the faith?"

"There shall." Naruto responded as he took the clothes from the small legion of followers. He quickly counted around two-hundred here, probably more were praying in the rooms, feeling unworthy of standing in Naruto's presense.

He felt downright embarrassed, yet strangely at ease. It had been this kind of acknowledgement he had been looking for all his life, yet a sect of Kyuubi came only three years ago to Konoha after learning of Naruto. From what he had heard, they thought their great god dead, until news of Naruto arrived. He was far from the great god of violence, chaos, and virility, but he had managed to invent a personality for it. But this was also not the recognition he was looking for, in a strangely paradoxical manner. He wanted to win respect from his own power, not that of a demon, god, or whatever it was.

"I am a demon made divine, kit" Kyuubi seemlingly volunteered.

"Is that all my lord?"

"That's it."

"Are you sure, my lord?"

"Hmm, maybe there is something you can do for me..."

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It felt so surreal, like a dream, or a fantasy she had during her days of study. Hinata still sat upon the same boulder Naruto had left her, watching Lee heave out pieces of charred rock and wood from the smouldering hole in the inn. She had never expected in her wildest dreams to be whisked away by a ninja, taking her away from all her troubles and thrusting her into a life of danger and adventure. Yet here she was, none the wiser and all the better. Only two days ago she was fearful of the future, and now she felt the future couldn't be brighter, despite the shadow the clouds of uncertainty cast upon her. She felt that Naruto was the only person she could trust in the world right now. Naruto and his friends. More thoughts began to ebb in. What of Naruto's past? Why did he hate her father so much? Who were his parents? What's his history with Orichimaru? All questions that she wanted answered, but she knew no amount of thinking would officially answer them.

"Hey, Hinata-san, I brought you a cup of tea, you look a bit tired." Came Sakura bearing two cups of tea.

It was true though, Hinata hadn't got a wink of sleep since last night. Despite Naruto's offer to let her sleep in his room, she just didn't feel she had deserved anything of the sort.

"Thanks Sakura-san." She replied, taking the cup of tea and sipping its warm contents.

"You're welcome. Sasuke and Neji are trying to negotiate with the Inn keeper. I suspect all our money's going to be the fine."

"How horrible. I hope Naruto-kun comes back soon to figure this out."

As if on cue, Naruto, still in his yukata came jumping over the fence, only to immediately be pounded into the ground by Sakura.

"YOU IDIOT!" She yelled as she kicked him and stepped on him.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, I got you some clothes.." Naruto's bruised face managed to reply, and his crippled hand extended the bundle of clothes.

"What about our problem! What are we going to do!" Sakura yelled, grabbing Naruto by the lappel and shaking him.

"I got some free labor to rebuild the room, we shouldn't have to pay that much..."

"Who's this free labor?"

"A bunch of monks who felt they had to help out the poor youth that caused this mess." Said Sasuke, strolling in with a bitter looking Neji.

"See, Sakura-chan?" Naruto really emphisized the -chan part.

"Whatever... So, we're off the hook then?" She said as he dropped Naruto's bruised body.

"I guess so." Replied Neji.

"Why would monks want to help us?" Asked Hinata, for she had no idea what was going on, and they acted as if this event were common place.

"Naruto manages to get help from monks...Through obscene ways. It wouldn't be right talking of it to a girl such as yourself." Sasuke simply replied.

"Oh...Um, Naruto-kun, about those clothes..." Hinata quickly followed up, wanting to avoid the question.

"Here Hinata-san. You can change in my room, I forgot to give you the key last night anyway, sorry about that." He said, handing her the clothes and leading her to his room.

"Here it is Hinata-san, go on in and try it out."

"Thank you Naruto-kun, and please, don't be so formal around me."

"Alright, Hinata-chan."

Hinata stepped into the room, and closed the door. She then leaned against it and sighed a breath of relief. It had taken her a great deal of willpower to not studder or to even ask the question. Now for the clothes, this was the first time she had looked at the clothes, and recognized them for what they were. It was the outfit of the champion of a faith. From what she could tell from the belt buckle, an eye surrounded by nine tails, it was the of the faith of Kyuubi. Was this another part of Naruto's obscene bargain with those monks? She couldn't wear this. But, if it pleased Naruto...

She stepped out of the room, wearing clothing that emitted an aura of self confidence. She wore a long teal jacket that was held in place at the waist by the same belt she had been looking at earlier, the one with an eye framed with nine tails. The jacket itself was left unzipped or unstrapped, for it lacked such things, the only thing keeping it from fluttering about was the belt, and it had short sleaves that only extended to the midsection of her bicep. A leather corset was underneath that jacket, split down the center to reveal more cleavage than Hinata felt comfortable with. To top it off, she wore a pair of teal shorts that extended to her knees. Her forarms were protected by cloth bracers, extending from the elbow to the wrist. From the belt ran a single strip of cloth that held a red eye in the midst of an orange swirl. All in all, she looked stunning. After all, it was the battle garb of a champion of the faith of Kyuubi, god, or demon, of destruction and sex.

"You look great Hinata-chan!" He said with glee.

"Thank you Naruto-kun, but isn't this the clothing of a champion? Don't I need to be ordained as a champion of the faith to become one?"

"Well then Hinata-chan, I ordain you as a champion of the faith of Kyuubi. Besides, we needed someone to play the part of the champion anyhow. Our cover was that we were to be escorting a champion on a pilgramige to Konoha, location of the largest Kyuubi temple in the world, as well as the population with the highest number of Kyuubi haters." Naruto managed to roughly explain.

"All right Naruto-kun... You should change too. You're clothes are a bit messed up because of Sakura-san..." She pointed out, Naruto's clothes were covered with dirt and holes. Hinata rather liked the holes though, she could see rippling muscle, and that caused her to almost melt in her shoes.

"Good point Hinata-chan, be right back." And with that, he stepped into the room, and Hinata waited.

She decided to think about her new clothes. They looked quite sexy in her opinion, quite scantly for the clothing of the champion of a faith, but champion none the less. She then began to try and connect all of this fox buisness. First, there's the ocarina, fox shapped, secondly, Naruto summons foxes, thirdly, he looked alot like a fox himself, with those whisker scars, the monks, the fact that Naruto came from Konoha, a place known for foxes, and their immense love-turned-hate, as well as site of the largest Kyuubi shrine, constructed a good three years ago, and now this. Was Naruto just fond of foxes? Couldn't be. Was he a member of the faith of Kyuubi? He did have alot of convincing experience when he came to the keep as a monk. What was the strand connecting all this?

"Hey, Hinata-chan, like my new duds?"

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Authors note: Too damn lazy to keep trying to reason with the damn scanner. I decided to just post the chapter already. I'll have it up and running with a link to my deviantart, eventually...


	12. Emotional

Feel like shit. I don't know why. I just sit here and watch as the blood red sun engulf everything in this red hue. I hate it. I hate myself. I want to forget. I want to start over. It won't happen. I've gotten too close. I hate it. I got close once. I loved it. I loved that feeling of elation. Then she hurt me. I don't want to go through that again.

I lay here, against the wall of this stupid inn, those stupid monks working like ants to fix the damage I caused, drinking this bottle of sake. I drown in my sorrows. I replay that moment in my mind. Over and Over and Over and Over again…

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The door opens wide, Naruto engulfed in orange and white, almost like purifying flame. A long white jacket, flowing with grace and poise, it framed his body perfectly. On its back an orange fox hissed angerly. An orange vest underneath and a black shirt underneath the underneath. His pants were orange as well, a white dragon stitched upon it, running up and down his legs. Both blades hung loosely from either side, a heavy girdle of black around his waist, a belt buckle of nine tails and a single eye at its center.

"Naruto-kun, you look amazing!" Hinata said, her voice lithe, guiding, pulling.

She looked beautiful. Her steps, each one like a spirit, leaving not a trace behind, her hair appeared to be softer than silk. Her skin was pale, almost as white as the moon. Naruto wanted to grab her and feel her warm body against his. Feel her soft body against his. He wanted to taste her lips. He wanted her.

A flash of something Naruto never wanted to see. A girl, kneeling, her head in her arms, blood flowing freely, her face in a never ending smile. The head speaks, but no sound comes out. He yells, but hears nothing. The room itself is dark, covered from floor to ceiling in blood. Then she simply explodes in a fantastic spray of gore. A flash that hurt, pain. Something from the past coming to the present.

Naruto's grin changed to a face of extreme distress, he fell upon his knees, head in his hands, sobbing quietly. He heard his name, but he didn't. That memory, it just wouldn't stop.

Hinata took Naruto into her arms and embraced him, whispering into his ears the promise of safety, of comfort. Oh, how he wanted to feel that, safety, comfort. It then stopped, the suppressed memories of years suddenly stopped coming, stopping as it started.

"N-Naruto-kun, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, leave me alone." He yells, throwing her off of him, walking away as she lay on the ground, confused and hurt.

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I watch these ants working as if what they do is of utmost importance. As soon as it's destroyed again, they simply begin again. They're like ants, but worse. They have ideas of self interest and self worth. They think themselves as more important than society itself.

I draw my twin blades and stare. These were once hers. Why do I still carry them? She hurt me. I should destroy them. I can't bring myself to do it. She was the enemy, she took my trust and twisted it, but she said in the end, that she loved me. Was it my fault? I was too weak. I was stupid. I still am stupid.

"I want to die" I say aloud. How easy it would be to simply take both blades and slide them into my skull. Kyuubi couldn't heal something like that.

"Don't say such things kit. If you're afraid of such things, then run. Just run" Kyuubi said, appearing beside me.

"Shut up… You don't know a thing…" I reply, out and aloud, I don't care if people think I'm crazy.

"I'm far older than you. I've seen betrayal, I've felt betrayal, I've given up, I've wanted to forget those sentimental memories I own. That was all before I even grew up, and when I had to bury those memories, it was almost a funeral within itself." The bitch lectures.

"SHUT UP! You understand nothing!"

I turn to her and place my hands around her throat. I feel my chakra smothering hers. I squeeze tighter.

"This won't solve anything, it'll only cause problems."

I don't care. I feel my hands tightening. I enjoy this, I enjoy hurting my friend. I am a sadistic bastard. And I like it.

"If you can't run, then fight your memories."

I squeeze tighter. She takes both of her hands up to my face and frames her hands around my cheeks. She pulls me in and kisses my forehead. My hands become knuckles, and I hear a snap. I broke her spine, didn't I? I scream. I yell and scream. I lift her up by the neck and throw her against the wall. I shut my eyes and just punch her, hit her, beat her. I open my eyes again, and she's changed. It's not Kyuubi, but Hinata. She was bloody, her neck crushed, her face bleeding, ribs and arms broken.

"Did I do something wrong, Naruto-kun?"

I shut my eyes again, and then re-open them. There she was again, that same girl from my memories I dare not name. To remember her name would only invite pain, more memories. Things I wanted left buried.

"I love you Naruto-kun, I truly did. Take me far away from this place, where we could be together forever."

I scream again, and I cry. I simply crumple down upon the ground and cry.

"I want to die."

"That's not such a good idea, dobe"

I look up and see Sasuke walking towards me. His several blades replaced by a single massive No-datchi strapped to his back. I look around me. I never moved, I still sat here, blades in my lap and sake in hand. It was all in my mind.

"You've got Hinata-chan worried, and Sakura-chan angry. I'm not here because of them though, I'm here because I'm worried about you." He continued, walking toward me and took a seat on the ground next to me.

"I know what you're afraid of."

"So what?" I take another swig of sake. Fuck not being in control. When I'm drunk and not in control, then I can't be responsible for my actions.

"The worst thing you can do is drink, dobe." And with that he took the bottle of sake from my hands and drained it, in one long gulp.

"It's our nature to make connections and have those connections broken, it's life. You've become afraid of getting close to another girl after Catherine."

"Shut up!" I yell, taking a blade and driving it towards Sasuke's face.

"I don't want to fight you Naruto, but I will subdue you." He simply replies, the blade driving into his forehead. His body melts into mud, and a voice comes from the other side of Naruto.

"You can't forget her Naruto, but you must keep your mind in the future. To live in the past is unhealthy." He said, sitting cross legged and drinking from a square cup of cold sake.

"I'm sorry…"

"No need. But as avengers like us, vengeance is the first thing to us, but what about afterwards? You've honed a tool that has finished its mission. Don't be so afraid to fall in love with her. Let your emotions take control, like they've always done for you in the past."

"But, what if…What if she's a spy of Orochimaru, or Akatsuki? What if she's fickle or she gets hurt and dies? What if it's my fault she dies? I couldn't live with myself."

"I told you before, I felt something strange about Catherine. Hinata-san on the other hand, I only feel the joy she feels of being around you. I think you're the only reason she lives now."

"I don't know, Hinata's the daughter of the clan leader I vowed to kill. Yet she likes me regardless. It just feels too good to be true."

"She isn't like that Naruto, I'm sure. If she is, I shall commit seppuku. Besides, I feel she has an inner strength, one that feels like it would compliment yours."

"Ano…"

"C'mon, lets go back inside, its getting dark and dinner must be getting cold."

"First, I want you to destroy my blades."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive."

I drop my two swords upon the ground, and wince as I hear them clatter against the cold stone floor. Sasuke raises his massive no-datchi from it's resting place and thrusts it into both blades. Sheer weight, gravity, cutting strength, and Chidori energy surging through the No-datchi cuts the two blades in half. He then makes several katas and then keeps his hand hovering above both shattered blades. They disappear in a puff of smoke.

"Sasuke, have you still got that Katana you forged for me as a gift?"

"Yeah, I'll summon it for you."

A sliver of blood and several katas later, my new katana appears in the stone. It was a Dai-Katana, long and strong, yet light. It's hilt was shapped like a fox, the blade appearing to come from the fox's mouth. I take one hand and claim the blade as my own.

"Let's go"

The two get up from their long talk. That field of red blood caused by the sun had long since dispersed. The monks had finished with their work of repairs and had gone home, none bothering to pray to Naruto simply because none knew what Naruto looked like. How ironic, the devoted did not know as to whom they were devoted to.

Step by step, Naruto makes his way up the stairs to the second story where Hinata and everyone else were waiting. Naruto simply wanted to go back outside and drown his troubles in alcohol or at the most extreme, jump off the stairs and die from the impact.

They finally arrive at the room where chatter could be heard. This was the one room Naruto would do anything to avoid, at all costs. Too bad Sasuke stood there threateningly with his massive sword in hand. With a deep breath, Naruto tore the door open. A storm came running at him.

"YOU IDIOT! HOW COULD YOU DO THAT TO HINATA-SAN! I AM GOING TO RIP YOUR SKULL OUT AND BEAT YOU TO DEATH WITH IT AND THEN-!" Yet Naruto didn't want to listen to the rest of Sakura's ranting.

He simply pushed her aside and walked straight towards Hinata.

"YOU SHIT! I'M STILL TALKING TO YOU!"

"Hinata-chan, I'm sorry about earlier, please forgive me…" Naruto then bowed at an exact 90 degree angle, something that had never been seen in any living creature's lifetime, to see the great Uzumaki Naruto bowing. Or Naruto's lifetime for that matter.

"I-It's a-alright, Naruto-kun, I forgive you."

She gladly forgave him, standing up from her seat and took Naruto by the shoulders, lifting him back up. As he looked questioningly into her eyes, she embraced him.

"Okay, enough of that, lets eat." Neji's voice interrupted, stoically tearing the two apart.

For the first time Naruto looked around at his surroundings. There was a long rectangular table, food already laid out upon it. Surrounding it were six tables. The room was covered in images of waves and rising suns. As Naruto looked at Hinata from across the table, she saw her face was beet red. Then she fainted, falling right out of her seat.

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Author's Note: Read and Review yo! Tell me what you liked and disliked, whether it be grammatically or writing style, or other, as long as its relevant.


	13. Facets of a Jewel

A diamond… Naruto is like a diamond. He has so many facets that I wonder if I will see every single one. When I first met him, he was a gentleman, stern and upright, yet mysterious. Then he becomes a cheerful youth, that friend I had always wanted. And then, he became sorrowful, emotional. Is that really what my touch brings? As I lay there on the ground, I stared at him. This wasn't Naruto, Naruto is cheerful, he's helpful, he'd never hurt a soul. Look at me, listing what Naruto was and wasn't. That may be him for all I know, under all of those masks.

I don't know.

Now as I stare at him across from this table, he is everything I've always wanted to be. He is kind, he is smart, he is strong, and he never gives up. Is this another facet of the diamond of Naruto, or is it really him? The him he wants to be?

Look at me, a fool. I've fallen for someone I have known for only three days. He probably thinks it was a mistake for dragging me along, no wonder he pushed me away.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, why're you so glum lookin'? Cheer up! Eat, be merry!" He yells, boisterous and exuberant. His face covered in ramen broth and noodles packed into his mouth.

I giggle, for once. I should be more like him, I shouldn't be so sad, I should be merry!

"That's it Hinata!" He encourages me for being happy, maybe, just maybe… He does care…

"Shut up Naruto, your voice is annoying" A rather perturbed voice comes from an end of the table.

"Screw off, Sasuke." Naruto simply replies, and flicks him off.

I just laugh, I laugh like I haven't done in years. Not since when I was a child. I hear Naruto laughing with me, then Rock Lee, Sakura, Neji, Sasuke… Is this what its like to be with a real family?

"H-haa ha… A-alright Naruto, enough of this crap, keep making us laugh and tofu my just come out of Sasuke's nose again."

"You said you'd never bring that up, ever."

"But it was just so cute!"

"More of disgusting."

Now I watch these two. Uchiha Sasuke and Sakura. Is that a lover's quarrel? Or is this just flirting? I wonder what it feels like, to be them. I bet their happy, happier than I ever was, even when mother was still alive. Damn the prestigious Hyuga clan, they may be powerful, honored, feared even, but I doubt not one of them is happy. I'm still a part of that clan too, yet here I am, laughing.

Maybe I'm just like Naruto, several faces, several facets to me. But I can't call myself a diamond, I'm too soft and weak to be as hard as such a precious rock. I was once called a sapphire, maybe that's what I am. I don't know.

I don't know, how much don't I know? I don't know anything.

We set out right after eating that evening, much to my surprise. Neji's reasoning is that we've been here too long, and that we may be attacked any minute. It'd be best if we left now, he said. When I ask where we are going, he simply replies, "Konoha". We're heading home?

Home, not in the literal sense, such as the Hyuga compound was once to me, but ancestrally, our clan hasn't left Konoha for generations, and then we simply leave, in the dead of night, without so much as a warning. Konoha was where my people were born, and we'd be returning to it. It was where I born.

They told me as to why we left, we left because of me. I don't know why, they say I have a gift, the ability to see, touch and channel the spirits of demons, but I've never seen this skill of mine manifest once. Father said we left because I missed my opportunity, but what was that opportunity? He never said a word beyond that. Perhaps it had to do with the Kyuubi? I was born a week after the fourth slew the beast.

Either way, I find myself walking down a long road, with everyone else. As the sun sets and the stars emerge, lights begin to illuminate our way, planted all along the edge of the road.

"Neji-oniichan, where did these lights come from?" I ask

"They're a new warding seal placed upon the road. They illuminate the road and ensure that nothing can enter the road, the only ways on and off the path are where the path end and begin. Or simply jumping over the invisible wall they create. It's relatively new, Konoha just finished constructing them after constant orc raids halted trade." Neji calmly explains.

"Hey, Neji, when we reach the bridge, can we stop for a minute?" It was Rock Lee, why would he want to stop at a bridge?

"Why?"

"It forks over the Kyuubi River, I want to test my strength against the force of the amazing power of its currents and waves!"

"If you die, it isn't my fault"

"Yosh!"

Rock Lee seems to be an odd fellow… He's constantly training and testing himself, for what reason I cannot guess. Maybe he's trying to get a girl back home to notice him? That reminds me…

"Um, Naruto-kun, can I talk to you for a moment?"

"Sure Hinata, what is it?" We pair up and begin to slow down and trail behind the main group.

"I don't mean to pry, Naruto-kun, but why did you get…Mad at me earlier? I just want to know so I don't make you upset again."

"It's nothing you did, its something I remembered."

"May I ask as to what it is?"

"Sure… You reminded me of someone I loved rather deeply…"

"Ano… Gomen Kudasai…"

"No, its alright. You both just showed so much kindness to me, unconditionally."

"Who was she?"

"Her name was…Catherine… She was a westerner, she traveled from some far off place called Gaul. It was rather funny how we met…"

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"Mon dieu, vous l'idiot ! You think I'm stupid enough to pay quadruple! Aller manger la merde!"

I had been walking back from training when I heard the yelling, and a small crowd had formed around her. As I squeezed through the crowd, I saw that she was pissed off at some baker trying to charge her quadruple for a Taiyaki.

"Hey you Gaijin, you accuse me of overcharging my customers?"

"I can read le sac de merde!" She retorted, and pointed towards a large sign displaying all of the prices of the baked goods.

She did appear rather strangely dressed, so I sorta guessed she was a foreigner right there. She was wearing a black western style dress and a red muffler around her neck. The two blades I wield were dangling from her waist and her arms were covered in metal gauntlets and shoulder armor. She had the look of a warrior, but her face was the exact opposite. She was blonde haired, like me, it reached down below her shoulder blades, but she had green eyes and somewhat tanned skin. Her skin appeared to have never been marred, not once. She had the look of a foreigner, it was written all over her. That accent and her tendency to curse in her home language just confirmed it.

What happened to those two blades Naruto-kun? You don't have them anymore; you just have a dai-katana now.

I had Sasuke keep them safe for me.

"Hey you dumbass, trying to charge her double 'cuz she's not from Konoha! I recommend you just give her the Taiyaki free, unless you're into me beating the crap out of you!"

She was a lot like me, an outsider.

Ano, Naruto-kun, you don't seem like an outsider to me…

Well, the village thinks of me as a delinquent. I've defaced the Hokage memorial statue so many times I'm surprised it's not permanently stained. I used to play pranks on everyone, even Lord Hokage, constantly, so I'm treated as an outsider in my own hometown. The villagers hate me and try to do the exact same thing to me as they do to her. I sort of have a reason though. They were treating her unkindly simply because she wasn't born here. I wouldn't stand for that.

We fought for a good hour, and the crowd surrounding us just got larger. In the end, I ended up paying the baker the normal price and stomping off in anger. She ended up following me just to thank me.

"Hey, wait!" She shouted as she ran to catch up with me, her Taiyaki still in hand.

"Yeah?" I shout back, stopping and turning to face her.

"Thanks for helping me back there," and she pauses to do a curtsy, it looked weird but I guess that's what westerners do, "My name is Catherine d'Arc, what is yours?"

"Name's Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Nice to meet you Uzumaki-kun."

"Er, you too um… How do you pronounce your last name?"

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"And that's how our friendship began. As it turns out, her father had told her about Konoha and taught her the language. She's been wanting to come here ever since, and after her father's death, she came here. Because she had no one to stay with, and I doubt the local inn would treat her justly, I invited her to stay with me. In the space of a few months, I found myself in love with her…"

"Ano, Naruto-kun, what happened?"

"She died last year, but I met her when I was 12."

"Gomen, Naruto-kun…"

"It's alright. I haven't talked about her for so long, but I think about her constantly. It felt good to talk about her." Yet Naruto's thoughts were contradictary, "I thought about her too much at first, so much that I asked Kyuubi to repress them for me, but now I remember fully again... Perhaphs it is for the best..."

"Its always for the best, Kit..." A voice whispered into Naruto's ear.

How sad, no wonder Naruto acted so rashly earlier. He's afraid of getting close to anyone else, to lose another precious person, it must hurt so badly, and it was only last year that she died, he must still be in mourning for her… I'm starting to feel bad I had pressured him as I did…

"YAHOO, WE'RE HERE!" Rock Lee shouted. What a way to ruin the moment.

"What do you mean here? This is no where near Konoha!" Questioned Naruto

"We're at the vicious Kyuubi river, where I shall test my might against nature!"

"What an idiot…" Sasuke muttered, and received a bash on the head for that.

Far off, three shadows were watching them.

"There's no warding spell protecting the bridge." One of them spoke, hushed and secretive, the voice of a boy.

"And there's a mighty river flowing nearby." Another said, her voice sweet and murderous.

"Looks like we've got the advantage then." A demon spoke, his massive blade cutting through the air.

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Authors Note: There'll be more on Catherine and Naruto's relationship later, and yes, there is a deeper reason for making her a foreigner. In this story, there's a reason for everything, oddly enough. If enough people demand it though, I'll write a seperate fanfic about Naruto and Catherine and their little adventures, up until her death, which will also be explained in this story as well.


	14. The Great Naruto Bridge

Flowing, raging, moving, the immortal sound of a running river, of water. Hinata didn't need to take off her headband to see the water, for its sound echoed for miles. As she enhanced the focus of her byakugan, she could see the lower currents of the river as it chiseled boulders smooth and turned rocks into pebbles. The river had indeed earned it name, the Kyuubi River, for it was vicious and destructive just as it was necessary for the continued existence of the forest around it. The river itself was incredibly wide, perhaps a good 200 or so yards she guessed. As the road continued to lead towards the river, a massive bridge came into view, easily large enough to allow nine or ten bulls to run across shoulder to shoulder.

What grandeur for a bridge, its mighty stone façade standing against the force of the river. The bridge was several stories higher than the river, for the spot that had been chosen was from a sheer cliff edge, most likely to keep high tide from flooding the bridge and the path. Before the bridge was a small clearing, in its center an obsidian obelisk.

"Hoy, Hinata-chan, come read what's on here!" Urged Naruto, running up to the obelisk and tapping on it.

She muttered a "hai" and the small group crowded around the structure. As she read to herself, Rock Lee read aloud.

" The Great Naruto Bridge! This bridge is dedicated to Uzumaki Naruto, who after the destruction of my home, the land of waves by the great wave, rescued myself and the rest of my family at the peril of his own life and gave us a home in Konoha. For him I've named the strongest bridge in the world, spanning the greatest river the Demon Kyuubi carved into the earth.- Tazuna"

"Wha-at! I had no recollection that Naruto had a bridge build after him!" Rock Lee exclaimed immediately after finishing reading.

"Damn straight! This is my super famous bridge! Sure, it was only finished a week ago, but soon my name'll become famous!" He yelled, raising his fist into the air.

"Air headed baka…" Neji and Sasuke muttered, and both received a smack to the head.

"Hoy, Naruto, I've never heard you do this, it's probably a lie. You probably bribed and or threatened the poor old man!" Sakura fumed after she smashed the two other nin's faces in.

"No lie, its all 100 truth! Ya see, when me and Ero-sennin were traveling around-"

"Who's Ero-sennin?" Shouted Rock Lee from behind Hinata and Sakura as he raised his hand high into the sky, thus scaring the crap out of Sakura and Hinata, and thusly receiving a blow to the head.

"He's the frog sennin, Jiaraya, well any how. So we went to the country of waves for something called coke-or-sumthin and it was just our luck that we came right after a major earthquake. So when we got there, everything was totaled, and we were going to start walking across the Inari bridge when we saw a little kid crying and shouting for help. So we ended up following the kid, who happened to be Inari, and it turns out his parents and grandpa, Tazuna, were buried alive under their house. So I dug them out, Jiaraya was just being a lazy bum and eating. Just as I finally pulled out Tazuna, Jiaraya spotted the massive wave coming, so he summoned a massive frog and we rode him away. We picked up anyone else we managed to find, but we weren't able to save many. And so that's how I met Tazuna the old geezer" He finally finished, scratching the back of his head as he came up with the lame conclusion.

"Ano, Naruto-kun, so you're the one who save Tazuna-san? He came to work on the bridge at the Hyuga castle, and we talked for a little bit. He mentioned he got saved by a ninja in orange from the Great Wave, but I didn't think I'd meet you…" Hinata hesitantly asked, her fingers clashing and her face attempting to look towards the ground, despite the fact she could easily see 359 degrees around.

"Yup, that's how it happened…" Said Naruto, but as usual, his thoughts were focused on other points, " But I didn't mention about Catherine traveling with me during those years, and how she had been the one to convince us to help Tazuna and Inari…"

"Well, now that I am here, at the greatest bridge spanning across the greatest river, I shall test my strength against nature!" Lee suddenly exploded, killing the moment and scaring Hinata and Sakura, again. He thusly deserved the fist that sent him flying into the river.

"Stop doing that dammit!" Sakura yelled as he plunged into the drink

Lee was immediately bombarded by the sheer force of the river as dozens of floating rocks pelted him at high speeds. Yet Rock Lee endured and leapt from underneath the water high into the sky, with a great cry of "Explosion of Youth" He landed on the surface of the water, using both chakra concentrated at his feet and his own momentum to keep him above. More challenges came in the form of waves. Massive waves that easily dwarfed him came rushing with enough force to drown a lesser man. Rock Lee was not a lesser man, well at least not compared to his teacher Gai, but that's another story. Mustering his great stamina and power, Lee delivered a mighty punch to the first wave that came to him, and rather than the wave simply absorbing the blow and engulfing him, the wave was blown back, spray shooting everywhere. Then the next wave came, and so did his side kick, smashing the water back into the river. Yet, the flow of the river and his one foot caused him to fall back into the river, but he had enough of a build up of chakra that he simply floated rather than sunk. Another wave came, Naruto and friends watching with worry, and then the wave came upon the fallen Lee. Yet before the wave could completely remerge with the rest of the river, the small lump of water exploded, Lee soaked, sky bound and falling back towards the small cliff side clearing.

"Amazing, Lee's managed to incorporate that technique into his strikes so quickly!" Sakura said dumfounded as Lee floated back to them.

"Hai Sakura-san, I've created several new techniques from that technique!" Responded Lee as he landed.

"What technique are you talking about?" Asked Neji, slightly interested. Slightly was the key word.

"As you know, Lee here's got underdeveloped chakra coils, and he can't use ninjustsu because of that. But, their developed enough for him to concentrate chakra into his arms and legs..."

"You didn't…" Mused Sasuke.

"Oh, but I did."

"What did you teach him?" Asked Naruto, hands folded behind his head and eyes squinted.

"I taught him the secret of my super strength.!" She said, accompanied by a little pose, "By concentrating chakra in small bursts, then releasing them immediately beforehand, he can emulate my super strength, not to the same degree as me because of his underdeveloped coils, but enough for a much harder hit."

"Why'd you teach him that?" Naruto asked once more.

"I'll volunteer that. Sakura-san here said that she needed a willing subject to test her potions, so I willing did it in return for the secret of her super strength." Lee replied.

"Oh yes, about that, how did that chakra potion work?" Asked a curious Sakura

"It worked quite well and it healed my wounds and returned me to full strength! Although there was on weird side effect…" Lee began, but began to trail off

"What was the side effect, so I can fix it next chance I get!" Demanded Sakura in her impatient way.

"Well, a tattooed eye appeared on my forehead and I could sort of see Master Gai's attacks before they came at me. It wouldn't wash off though, and in a couple of hours it disappeared…" He added, trailing off at the end again.

"Hmm, have you got any more of it left?"

"I've still got half a gourd here." Lee said as he pulled out the gourd from the folds of his Gi.

"Curious… Keep it, I've got a bit of a hypothesis, but I'll need to run more…Tests…" Sakura then let out a maniacal laugh. Well, Naruto wish she did, to fit her mad scientist/doctor image, but it didn't happen.

"Naruto! Sasuke! Neji! You three are my new test subjects!" She decided, without any sort of input from her own test subjects about whether they wanted to join in on the experiment or not.

Sasuke just mumbled "whatever", Neji just looked perturbed, and Naruto yelled with great distress.

"NANI! I don't wanna! I might grow a third arm or something!" Naruto began whining.

"Stop being such as baby and suck it up. Look at these three, they're not complaining."

"Ano, Sakura-san, umm, I still can't get any feeling in my right shin ever since you made me take that one potion…" Lee interjected, but was soon silenced by a rather vicious strike to the face.

"Well, enough with the talking, we've wasted enough time, lets go." Interrupted Neji as he began walking across the bridge without Sakura, Naruto and Hinata.

"Wait for us!" Naruto yelled as he ran to catch up, yet as he ran, a fog suddenly fell, getting thicker by the moment. He thusly skidded to a stop

"Nani, what's this?" Naruto called out.

"N-Naruto-kun, wait for me!" She cried as she caught up to Naruto, "Ano, Naruto-kun, why'd you stop?"

"It got really foggy all of a sudden, but because you had your byakugan on to look through your headband, you didn't notice any of it." Explained Naruto, "Where are we and where's everyone else?"

"Right now, we're a bit on the bridge, and I can see Lee-kun still over at the clearing, Neji-oniichan and Sakura-san ahead of us, and Sasuke-kun's right there." Described Hinata, pointing right behind Naruto towards a grim Sasuke.

"Get ready, this is a technique, hiding in the mist. Your eyes and ears will let you down here Naruto, follow your nose." Explained Sasuke as he activated on his Sharingan and drew his massive blade.

"Naruto-kun, get down!" Hinata screamed as another massive blade came flying over them and landed with a satisfying "thunk" into the ground a few yards away.

"You dodged it eh? You've got some talent I admit, but now this is all business. Give us the girl." A voiced called from where the sword had landed.

"Hinata – How many of them are there?" Queried Naruto as he stood back up

"There's one attacking Lee-kun, another engaging Sakura-san and Neji-oniichan, and there's one a few yards ahead of us, he's pulling the sword that was just thrown at us out of the ground."

"You've got two choices Hyuga brat, either come with us dead or alive. Your father just wants you back to make sure your eyes don't fall into someone else's hands." The man callously said as he began to walk towards them, dragging the sword.

"What a bastard" Muttered Naruto "We're not giving her up you asswipe, so bite my ass!" And then continued to mutter profanity in the name of Hinata, who blushed a rather bright scarlet.

"Name's Momochi Zabuza, one of The Seven Shinobi Swordsmen of The Mist, Demon of the former Kirigakure no Sato," He said calmly and smoothly, but then exploded into a sprint, "I'll be your executioner today!"

"Naruto, get back, I'll fight this master of the blade with my own!" Sasuke said with some sick glee as he met Zabuza blade for blade in the mist

Authors Note: Ugh, now I've got school, so I can only really afford to update on weekends. Next up will be the amazing clash of titans, Sasuke Vs Zabuza, Neji and Sakura vs Raharu, and Rock Lee vs Haku! Don't forget to review and tell me your opinions, as long as its relevant.


	15. Battle Of the Great Naruto Bridge

"Hey, where'd this fog come from?" Yelled a very green ninja leaning on an obelisk etched with writing of a story from some time ago.

"Hello? Anyone?" He yelled once more and then cupped an ear with a hand so as to listen if there was a reply. Nothing.

Wait, something. Sounds like a little yelling, but as if from miles away, which seemed odd to Rock Lee. His fellow teammates couldn't have gone that far, even at full speed… Another noise came though, it sounded like something cutting through the air… Lee closed his eyes and listened intently to the world around him, feeling the earth shifting, the fauna hunting, the flora growing, and something else…

"Hmm?" He muttered, snatching two needles straight out of the air then tossing them back to their point of origin. " So I'm right, we're under attack, they must be using the mist to remove our visual senses, then placing some sort of sound barrier as to prevent us from calling for help, but still allowing hearing within a… Ten, no twenty yard distance…" Lee quickly analyzed and summarized within his mind's eye.

His eyes still closed, Lee pulled out several needles and threw them in a fan like formation in front and behind him, covering a full 360 degrees. Lee then paused and listened once more.

"There!" Exploded The Green Beast, jumping high into the air and delivered several strikes in the general direction of the obelisk. The first two strikes hit only rock, but the remaining six hit flesh, bone and sinew.

"Shit!" Heard Lee as his hits rang home, and decided to unsheathe his eyes to better see the surprised look on his assailant, still in midair.

Lee was somewhat surprised to find that the fog had created a sort of eye around the obelisk, resulting in much needed vision for a good 15 yards. What truly surprised him was who he hit. It was the same masked boy from the bar, flying backwards, his mask cracked and splintering. The masked boy crashed painfully into the ground as Lee delivered a finished strike with an axe kick, straight to the face. Lee landed gracefully and reassumed his trademark "Come on!" fighting stance.

"You there, for what reason do you attack me?" Called out Lee.

The masked ninja did not respond at first, slowly getting up as if in a daze. He stood there for a few moments, as if attempting to feel the flow of energy between them, his mask continuing to crack due to the sheer force of gravity. Then, time seemed to slow to a crawl as Lee gazed upon the face underneath the mask. At first, only cracks fell to the earth, but large and larger pieces fell, first he saw an eye, then a nose, a mouth, then the rest, the entire mask crumbling into dust. The face was just like the girl's from the bar, yet Lee's horrible memory caused him to easily forget names.

"Umm, you there, who are you?" Lee called out once more.

"You don't remember me?" The boy, or at this point, Lee was also inclined to believe in the notion that perhaps it was a girl, after all, it looked pretty enough.

Lee shook his head in resignation.

"I'm Haku, you idiot, former ninja hunter of the land of waves." The boy/girl grunted in anger.

"Umm, are you a boy or a girl?" Questioned Lee after a moment's distraction.

"I'm a boy! A boy goddammit!" Cursed Haku as he pulled out several acupuncture needles.

"Well then, Haku was it? I shall beat you down into the ground and rescue my friends from the vile clutches of your fellows!" Lee announced in his nice guy pose, which caused Haku to question the sanity of his opponent.

"Then lets see if you can keep up!" And Haku advanced upon Rock Lee at blinding speed.

"Neji, hold up, I can't see a thing in this fog!" A very angry Sakura announced as she attempted to catch up with the Hyuga she was just following. She soon found him after running full speed into his back, but he did not budge.

"Nani? What the hell do you think you're doing?" Chastised Sakura as she got off the ground and dusted off her clothing.

"I recommend silence; we are currently being stalked by the enemy." Neji calmly explained, his byakugan eyes darting all about as he searched for his prey.

"I know this technique! It's hidi-" Sakura attempted to explain, but quickly cut her speech short after the mist began to materialize into massive ice mirrors, and the ground beneath them began to freeze over until it too was ice.

"You're moving incredibly fast considering the fact that all you're using are mirrors." Neji called out in his usual, calm fashion.

"Another Hyuga? No matter, I shall cut you down regardless. I do see I am a bit outnumbered, at that you can see through my little rouse…" A melodic voiced called out, the image of a rather pretty ninja appearing all over the mirrors followed by the reflections disappearing and the kunoichi stepping out of one of the ice mirrors.

"I should've known you would strike so soon, and here of all places…" Sakura muttered under her breath as she slipped her leather gloves on.

"Well, since you can see me as I move at the speed of sound, I guess I'll up the challenge a tad bit…" Raharu finished with the creation of several doppelgangers, not of water like Zabuza's, but of hard and sturdy ice.

"Can you spot us all?" Each of her copies spoke as each one entered a mirror, and some entering the ice floor beneath their feet.

"Oh no you don't!" Sakura attempted whilst slamming her fist into the frosty ground, causing it to crack and shatter.

"Let's see how you do without one of your mirrors now!"

"Sakura, that wasn't very wise. She may be missing her larger mirror, but you just split it into several more, making it even harder to pinpoint her exact location…" Neji explained as he normally did in his calm disposition, despite the odds.

"Why didn't you tell me then!" She retorted, but was cut of by a command of "Silence or I'll leave you to fend for yourself."

Sakura didn't even see movement on the part of Raharu's. All she saw were several cuts appearing all over her clothing, followed by the blue wave of Neji's Hakkeshou Kaiten, blasting Sakura down to the floor, shattering several ice bushins and lighting several acupuncture needles on fire.

"Watch it Neji!" Yelled a very perturbed Sakura as she healed her small superficial wounds and dusted herself off from the ground.

"I need you to do something…" Neji muttered, ignoring her complaints.

"O-ho-ho, I should have fought that green beast. I'm sure my brother's easily tearing him apart!" Each of the several hundred mirrors mocked, and then began to maniacally laugh.

"How the hell did I end up fighting this idiot?" Haku screamed into the night air more as an audible breath than anything else.

Despite the fact that Haku considered himself to be the king of speed, he was starting to think that this was an ill deserved title. Immediately upon charging with several needles, looking to find an easy kill, Rock Lee simply leaned back and delivered a kick straight into Haku's chin and sending him flying into the obelisk with a painful crack. Haku immediately recovered and jumped off the obelisk, charging once more.

Lee was forcefully engaging Haku at speeds he could hardly keep up at, whether he liked it or not. Straight after their little conversation, Lee charged in a green flash, sending a Konoha Senpu straight towards Haku's face, but he manages to narrowly dodge the strike by ducking, only to be caught by a spinning hook kick from the leftover momentum of the Konoha Senpu.

This first exchange hardly ceases Haku's own offensive and attempts to force Lee to occupy both of his hands with his own by freezing one arm over with an icy gale from deep within Haku's icy breath, and Lee's other arm locked with his own, then using the force of his hips, Haku sends Lee straight into the ground.

Sensing a moment of safety, Haku attempts to summon water from the fog to create his ice mirrors, only to be interrupted from Lee's knife edge kick from his prone position, sending Haku stumbling a few meters and giving Lee a chance to get back up.

Thus, we reach Haku stumbling for breath as he felt his lungs crushed by the vicious kick, "How the hell did I end up fighting this idiot!"

"I am an idiot of hardwork!" Lee screams back, charging once more

Haku attempts to give himself a little breathing room by a needle and using a stabbing motion towards Lee, aiming for a vital pressure point in his neck. Lee sees this ploy however, and deflects Haku's arm, opening up his torso to any number of hits. Lee decided to use a new technique, "The Claws of the Dragon".

Lee starts off slow with an uppercut with his forward hand, followed by a hook from the left, mutters "two", and then hell breaks loose from that point on. He delivers several high speed punches, while each one moderately damaging, but nothing life threatening like the first two hits, but at the numbers Lee was crunching out, Haku's rib cage must be nothing more than dust. "Four…Eight…Sixteen…Thirty-two…Sixty-four…" He mutters under his breath, each strike gaining power and momentum as he counts upwards. Lee then enters a sort of zone, delivering strikes beyond human comprehension, and then ends with a one-inch punch, super powered by his newly learned super strength. "One-hundred-twenty-eight!" Lee finish and re-enters his fighting stance, but at closer glance, one can easily tell that the arm he delivered his one-inch punch was shaking.

"Sakura's super strength may be devastating, but my chakra coils… At such concentrations, they may explode under the extreme pressure…" Thought Lee as he watched his opponent.

"I'm busy, you're busy, we're both busy men. I've got to take the Hyuga girl back, and you have to protect her, so lets cut the crap and make this a winner take all. Your best against mine." The young boy proposed as he stumbled back up, obviously attempting to fight his pain.

"Show me what you've got!"

"Are you sure this'll work?" An unsure Sakura questioned an uncomfortable Neji.

"It had best, unless you want to get burned and I want my limbs ripped out of my sockets." Responded Neji, standing back to back and attempting to cover the other. Sakura and Neji were covered in dozens of acupuncture needles, one going straight through her throat, oddly enough.

"Lets hope this works then!"

"What are you up to now? I don't want the fun to end yet!" Raharu and her clones called out mockingly.

"Now!" Neji called out and launched himself into the air, and then began to spin into Hakkeshou Kaiten, but of a deadlier variant.

Utilizing her mighty strength, Sakura had Neji stand on her knuckle, and punched him straight into the air at terrifying speeds. At such high velocities he then turned on his side and used the momentum to begin spinning towards maximum velocity, and then released his chakra, bathing everything in the blue purifying flame.

Sakura herself delivered another punch into the ground, enough to kick up enough of the stone bridge to protect her from the kaiten, but Raharu on the other hand was not so lucky. The supposedly invincible ice mirrors shattered and melted, her ice clones melting with them. Raharu herself lay in a smoldering puddle, steam rising from her body and violently coughing.

"Are… You… Dead… Yet…?" Gasped Neji as he landed, the massive amount of chakra he emitted taking more than he wished to admit.

"Master Zabuza…. Haku-oniichan, I've failed you both…." She coughed up, the mist lifting as quickly as it fell.

As she stared where Zabuza and Haku should have been fighting, she was awakened to a rather violent sight.

"H-Hinata? What're you doing!" Sakura yelled out as she saw what Raharu saw upon emerging from the rubble that was her shield. Neji was simply dumbstruck due to exhaustion to attempt to comprehend.

"No! Wait stop, spare them! Please! We surrender, don't hurt them! Stop!" Raharu called out with all her strength.

Authors Note: What grisly scene did Raharu witness? What happened in the fight between Sasuke, Naruto and Hinata against Zabuza? Till next time, but until then, you can visit my deviant art to check out a scrap of Hinata and how she should appear in the story. It's not considered a deviation because it doesn't look right, the scales off. Just check out my profile and click on homepage, should send you to my deviant art.


	16. Torture

The blade came and crashed, again, again and again. Sasuke could easily see and perceive each blow regardless, parrying and countering to no avail. Another clash, a tug of strength, who would back down first? Again and again, the ring of steel, the flow of electricity, the fog of mist, the smell of sweat. Battle brought back to its basics of flesh, bone and sinew, a true form of self expression.

Zabuza raises his head cleaving knife high above him, and brings it down with earth shattering force upon Sasuke, the sheer force causing a notch to be formed in the massive blade, but Sasuke stood firm, the currents of Chidori sending a shock straight down both blades and numbing Zabuza to the bone. Regardless Zabuza pushed further, moving Sasuke with sheer force and momentum. Taking the initiative, Sasuke slid his blade towards the tip of the no-datchi and batted it away, control being its weakest at the tip. As the No-datchi violently crashed against the ground, Sasuke ran his blade across the length of Zabuza's, sparks lighting the path. Managing to perceive this, Zabuza attempted to use the grounded no-datchi as a lever to help him dodge the blade and deliver a kick, but in mid spin Zabuza felt his stomach collapse upon itself and the cold steel of a blade fall down upon his neck. Sasuke felt his blade cut through water as he saw Zabuza melt before him, the art of substitution. He spun around to meet Zabuza once more and parried another horizontally spinning strike. They break away from one another.

For a moment battle is paused, each circling one another, glaring and searching. Yet it is The Demon who breaks the silence, "For a kid who just got into the bingo book, you're pretty good. No doubt in a fair fight you'd win, but I didn't get where I am today by fighting fair!" With that he jumps away, and the mist further deepens.

"Shit" Sasuke mutters as he realizes how vulnerable he is. Without his valuable asset of sight, there is little more he could do… "Unless... Feel the earth move, reach out for every vibration" He mutters, and does so.

Like how a snake determines movement by vibrations upon the earth, he too feels the variations in air movement, the ripples sent across the stone bridge. His concentration is broken by massive tremors, the bridge nearly shifting under the force of some massive force, but what would emit such power that would deafen him, make him unable to feel each step, each breath?

"Lee…"

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"The sting of one-thousand icy needles!" Haku cried into the air as the water puddles along the ground began to resonate, droplets of water falling into the air and slowly formed needles of ice.

"One-thousand kunai of flames!" Lee yelled in response as he pulled a scroll out of his pouch and tossed it into the air and the scroll exploded, a thousand projectiles flying out of the ground and landing into the formation of the eight trigrams of pre and post heaven falling about him. Each kunai lacked a proper hilt, but had a vial of red liquid in its place and explosive notes tagged upon each one.

"Goodbye" Haku responded to this seemingly ineffective attack, the ice needles all taking form and taking place all around in a sphere, engulfing Lee. They then crashed into him, a thousand icy needles piercing every inch of his body and ripping him apart, turning the water crimson as it ran into a small pool of water where Lee once was.

"Easier than I thought…" Haku spoke aloud to himself as walked into the center of the formation where Lee once stood and inspected where the pulp of flesh and bone should have been.

The key word was should have been. As Haku squatted down and inspected the pool more closely, his eyes opened wide in surprise as Lee's foot emerged from beneath the earth and kicked him high into the air.

"I'm not done yet!" Lee yelled as they both began their ascent into the air.

He began a combo that defied gravity, each kick sending both higher into the air, blood streaming from Lee's arm, the blood soaking the bandages, almost as if the arm had exploded from the inside. At the very top of their ascent, Lee's bandages wrapped all about Haku's body, helpless to react as Haku's mind screamed "This is the end. Goodbye." Lee then sent Haku face first back to earth and followed by sending a kick that sent them into a spinning. As Haku looked to the earth and saw the eight trigrams of pre and post heaven, they caught fire and exploded, sending metal shrapnel and earth into Haku's descending body.

"Earth Meets Sky! Eat it!" Lee yelled into Haku's ear as he delivered the final kick and departed prior to meeting the explosion.

Lee hit the earth with a thud as he landed in a crouched position, tending to his bleeding arms. "Smashing my way underground with Sakura's technique caused my arms to implode…" He muttered as he looked down at his bleeding hands.

Lee looked to where his opponent had landed and saw the battered body. Cautiously approaching the body, he knelt down and felt Haku's pulse. Still alive, just barely. "He won't be waking up within the next seventy-two hours, that's for sure."

Lee stared at the bruised face for a few moments more, brushing some hair out of his face before he decided to move once more.

The mist began to clear and Lee saw across, to the bridge, and saw something he thought he would never see…

"Hinata-san! What are you doing!"

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Sasuke kept on his guard, watching, waiting, trying to use what little he remembered from Kakashi's tracking lessons.

"I should've signed the damn dog contract instead of the damn snake…" Sasuke mentally regretted.

Just as he began to scold himself, a figure from behind came with sword raised, yet Sasuke stepped aside and cut the figure down, a water doppelganger he could ascertain.

"That means…"

Sasuke was able to parry Zabuza's next strike, but from what he could barely see in the heavy mist, it was a doppelganger, not the real thing. A massive wave of water emulating a mighty dragon came crashing upon the bridge, smashing Sasuke against the rails, the extreme force of the blast broke the rails and caused him to fall into the river. The water felt heavy, too heavy…

"Ha, you fell for it, I didn't think you'd make such a mistake, but you appear to have done so anyhow! I'll leave you in this prison of water to drown for the moment, I'll leave you with a doppelganger to keep you out of trouble…" Mocked Zabuza as he leapt back onto the bridge, from here Sasuke was looking from the outside in, yet even watching seemed pointless, for the fog still surrounded the bridge.

From what he could see, the pale moon had emerged and caused the water to rise to incredible levels, near close enough to flood the walkway.

"Shit, how am I going to get out of this…" Wondered Sasuke as he entered a state of meditation to allow the trace amounts of air in his lungs to sustain him.

"Naruto-kun! Sasuke-san just got knocked off the bridge!" Cried Hinata as she stood close behind Naruto, acting as his eyes.

"Shit, where's Zabuza now Hinata-chan? The mist, it hides his scent!" Naruto said angrily, cursing his current state of helplessness.

"I can't find him, he's vanished! No, wait, to your left Naruto-kun!" Pointed Hinata as Zabuza's vague form came through the mist.

Naruto moved to intercept and stabbed the figure, but he felt only water, a water doppelganger. Hinata then reported he was coming from the right and above. Naruto guarded against the first and cut through the figure, yet another water doppelganger, but he did not act as successfully against Zabuza as he fell from above.

He knocked Naruto into the ground and pinned him there, standing atop his fallen enemy. Hinata willed herself to move, to react, yet she stood there in fear, unable to even turn away.

Naruto felt a great searing pain emerge along his abdomen and left side, watching as his life bled from him. Summoning what little force he could muster, Naruto summoned the Rasengan in his right hand and fired it into Zabuza's chest, sending him flying back. As he became aware of what happened, Naruto noticed that the blade had cut through his shoulder and through his lungs, right down to his ribs, the other cut went right across his abdomen.

Finally finding the courage to move, Hinata came to Naruto too late, watching his blood spill all over the ground, all over her. Tears welled in her eyes as she cried, tears falling upon Naruto's almost unconscious eyes.

"I-I'm sorry Naruto-kun, I'm sorry!" She cried as she hugged his dying form, attempting to use the cloth from that hung from her belt to stop the bleeding that ebbed from his stomach.

"What do you have to be sorry for Hinata-chan?" Naruto muttered as his eyes slowly closed.

"No, you cannot leave me! You cannot take him! He is mine! Mind, body and soul! Don't you dare take him from me! He is mine forever more! He is my love, my Naruto! Mine! Please, don't take him from me!" She cried to the heavens as she mournfully held him in her arms.

"How tragic, oh well. See what would've happened if you had just stayed home?" Zabuza called out, attempting to make his target see reason, but she did not hear.

As she held him and cried, blood and water mixing and diluting, the world turned to darkness as she cried. The world changed, it began to warp and change. She was no longer on the bridge. She was no longer holding Naruto. She was still crying, covered in blood. Light began to appear, a town emerged around her, and she saw a younger Naruto walking.

"Naruto-kun!" She called out, but no voice came, but rather, another voice came.

"Hey, wait!" A girl shouted as she ran to catch up with Naruto, a Taiyaki in hand.

"Yeah?" Naruto shouted back, stopping and turning to face her.

"Thanks for helping me back there," and she paused to do a curtsy, "My name is Catherine d'Arc, what is yours?"

"Name's Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Nice to meet you Uzumaki-kun."

"Er, you too um… How do you pronounce your last name?"

"What am I seeing?" Hinata wondered aloud as she watched this. Is this Naruto's memory? What is this? Why am I seeing this?

"You're seeing this because of your gift, Naruto's bore his soul to you in his moments between life and death, and from your gift you see his last thoughts." A stunningly beautiful woman wearing an orange kimono, whiskers upon her cheeks and long blonde hair that seemed to shine in the light.

"What do you mean?" Hinata asked, but she was silenced by the woman.

"Quiet, Naruto-chan's next memory is coming."

The world turned dark again, and then bit by bit specks of light appeared above Hinata. A running stream could be heard once more, she felt her feet touch solid ground. As Hinata looked around, she found herself upon a bridge over looking a tranquil stream, a stone path leading each side away; a forest lined the banks of the stream. An older Naruto materialized on the bridge, leaning against the red guard rails, and the same girl, albeit also a little older next to him.

"Naruto-kun, are you sure this is a good place to see the fireworks?" Asked Catherine as she looked into the water, staring at her reflection.

"It's a great place to see the fireworks!" He announced in his cheerful disposition, his eyes squinting and his mouth grinning.

"Oh look, Naruto-kun!" She pointed out and the three looked up, into the sky. A star began to fall from the heavens, leaving a streak of light across the night sky.

"Quick, make a wish Naruto!" She ordered, closing her eyes and muttering something to herself. Naruto followed suit and made his wish.

Moments later, Catherine broke the silence, "Naruto-kun, what'd you wish for?" She questioned.

"Well, it's not really a wish…" He muttered and scratched the back of his head.

"C'mon, tell me!" She begged, flashing her eye lashes in an oh-so-seductive way.

"Well Catherine-chan, it's sort of a confession… I like you a lot…More than a lot, I think I love you…" Naruto hesitantly answered, yet Catherine's face lit up brighter than the very stay they wished on.

"Oh Naruto-kun! You've made my wish come true!" She cried as she embraced Naruto, the fireworks flying high into the sky and exploding into vibrant colors of orange and blue.

Hinata watched this moment in admiration. How she too longed to admit such a thing to him, savoring every moment of what she saw, oddly enough it aroused no feelings of jealousy in her like she assumed.

The world turned black once more, and Hinata found herself standing alone once more, the warmth of the memory gone from the world. The world stayed black for moments more, floating in the darkness until she felt her feet touch solid ground, shattered and scattered stone and rock. A single beam of light emerged from a hole in the sky. The sky began to block itself in, stones and rocks began to form around her, forming a small room, or tomb, dug out of a rockslide…

She attempts to take a step, but she almost slips, not due to the unevenness of the ground, but due to the slickness of it. As she inspected the stones more closely, she found they were slick with blood, human blood! As Hinata looks around her, she notices that the entire room was covered in blood, she screamed and almost fell as she felt a droplet land upon her cheek.

As she attempted to rationalize as to why Naruto would have a memory here, Naruto materialized before her, he yelled and screamed, his mouth moved but no voice came. As she looked to what Naruto was yelling at, she was stunned at the sight she saw.

Catherine was kneeling on the ground, covered in blood and pale as death, her clothing ripped and tattered. What almost caused Hinata to faint was that Catherine's head was no longer atop her head, it was cradled in her arms. She saw the stump of where the neck was, a bit of vertebrae sticking out, as if her head were painfully ripped off rather than cut off.

"I love you Naruto-kun, I truly did. Take me far away from this place, where we could be together forever." Spoke Catherine's head from her bloodied hands as the body offered the head to Naruto.

"You hurt me, betrayed me, you used me, I loved you!" Naruto cried out as she fell to his hands and cried.

"I'm sorry Naruto-kun. I still love you, he lied, I never planned to leave you. I love you Naruto-kun, of course I'd marry you." Catherine's head spoke once more, and smiled. As Naruto looked up, he saw her body explode, splattering him in blood and gore, but he didn't care.

He crawled up to the pile that was once Catherine and picked up her head, her eyes eternally closed, her face forever in a smile. He kissed her once more, and cried.

Hinata found herself crying as well, tears welling up in sadness as she felt the bond between the two so brutally severed. She cried and cried, for what felt like eternity, until she heard the woman's voice once more.

"These were the thoughts that constantly run through Naruto-chan's head, even near death. After her death, he could only sleep and cry, he wouldn't move, he wouldn't eat. He felt so desolate, that he asked me to repress those memories for him, so that he might forget her, and so I did. He was happy once more for a time, but your kindness, it broke that barrier…" The woman explained as she went to the sobbing Hinata and embraced her, calming her.

"N-Naruto-kun… H-how… H-how can I help him?" She cried into the shoulder of the woman.

"You can be kind to him, love him, protect him…" The woman assured her.

"B-but h-how? I-I'm s-so w-weak…"

"Then I'll lend you my strength. You fulfill all of my conditions. You love him, you're the possessor of a kind spirit, you have a gift for channeling the power of demons, and you're my champion…" She explained as she pulled Hinata away and wiped away her tears.

"W-what? W-who are you?" Question Hinata, but she was silenced by the woman's finger.

"Shhh, it's all right, don't worry, just protect him. I can heal him, but I'll need you to protect him for the moment, he's in no state to fight, mentally or physically."

"But, who are you?"

"Ask Naruto-chan, it wouldn't feel right if I explained everything to you without his consent."

Hinata opened her eyes, and felt the raw force flowing through her, the raw power, the raw energy. Is this what the woman was speaking of? Just who is Uzumaki Naruto? No time for such questions she decided, she had to protect Naruto now. As she stood back up she felt a chain connecting the two resonating from her heart.

No time had passed since she blacked out, fortunately for her and Naruto. With this pure rage, raw power, she would make him pay, pay horribly, viciously.

"W-what is this?" The assassin cried out in surprise as she felt the mighty aura coming from Hinata.

"I'll kill you" She stated as she stood up and activated her byakugan, seeing through the dense fog that surrounded them.

"Damn it!" Zabuza cried as he launched himself at her, using his mighty blade to attempt to cut her head in half, yet despite the mighty swing, he only caused a slight cut to form upon her cheek. He tried again, and again, and again, but to no avail. Six cuts appeared upon her cheeks, three upon each cheek, each one healing almost immediately, leaving a slight scar.

On the next swing she caught the blade with her bare hand, and shattered the massive head cleaving knife into shards of steel. In shock Zabuza attempted to retreat, but only managed in tripping over himself.

"You'll pay, for every inch you've brought Naruto-kun closer to death…" As she reached down and grabbed Zabuza by the throat, lifting him into the air.

As she looked at his internal coils system, she looked for the points that would cause the most pain. She felt some attempted resistance from Zabuza's hands, but she simply tightened her grip. Using her left hand, she picked a tenketsu and flooded it with obscenely massive amounts of chakra, watching him squirm and scream in pain. No one would come to save you, no one…

She continued to strike vital points and flood them with chakra, taking absolute glee in doing so. As she continued, she noted that Zabuza was reacting less and less, the lure of unconsciousness threatening to take her prey. She remedied this by sending waves of chakra through her right hand and into his throat, converting the chakra she had received from Naruto into the element of electricity and frying his brain stem and upper brain functions. He was instantly awake and screaming.

"You seem awfully proud of the arms of yours, they're what let you kill people, yes? What would you do without them?" Hinata questioned as she took his right arm and began to slowly apply pressure upon it. His eyes widened in shock and attempted to reason with her, but she tightened her grip once more.

She applied more and more pressure, until she had crushed his arm, resulting in an ear piercing scream from Zabuza, the arm flopping wildly as it's supporting bones were grinded into bits. She then went to work dislocating his shoulder, tugging at the broken arm as she felt herself gaining, the arm wouldn't last for much longer. As she finally managed to dislocate the shoulder with a satisfying crack, she heard cries from others, cries that were not Zabuza's.

She looked to her right and saw Sakura and Neji yelling something, and then looked to her left and saw Lee yelling something. She finally looked at what she was doing, and she was immediately repulsed at what she had just done. She dropped Zabuza and let him crash into the ground. She stared at her hands, her blood soaked hands, the blood of Naruto upon her hands.

Hinata fell to the ground, onto her knees, and cried, bringing her arms around herself, embracing herself as she cried.

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Authors Note: So concludes the battle of Naruto Bridge. Crazy huh? By the way, congrats to a Crazy Girl of Many Names for getting the coveted 100th review. This isn't the end though, we've still gotta get back to Konoha, and see some Itachi on Naruto action! (Not in that way it sounds)

Author's other Note: I've got another idea for a story as well, and one of the interesting things about my English summer school class is that they allow me to write anything I want once a week, so I thought I'd use that to make a story about Gaara, the poor beast of the sand.

By The Way: Sasuke's not that well known because he just stopped training and began going on missions, and Sasuke's easily beat because the fog takes away his amazing Sharingan, and since he's trained to feel the vibrations on the ground to tell where the enemy is, Lee and Sakura's fights really mess it up since hey, there's plenty of ground destruction. As said before, he signed the snake contract rather than the dog contract, thusly concentrating on snake like tracking techniques rather than on dog like tracking techniques. An explanation for all you Sasuke lovers out there


	17. A Short Reprieve

These tears, falling from my cheeks. Are they mine? I feel so cold, despite the heat emanating from me. Why am I crying? Am I crying for Naruto, or myself? I tortured another living being, I enjoyed every moment of it. I am a disgusting excuse for a creature…A sadist… Hate, flowing through every pore of my body, piercing my soul, I am dirtied, I am disgusting. This chain I feel from my heart, it pollutes Naruto's soul…

Naruto…!

I will my legs to move, to stop crying, to ascend, but it just… It just won't happen… Move you selfish, disgusting, ugly thing!

I get up on one knee, then I stand, I feel hate, fury, weighing me down, that urge to just lay prostrate and die. But, I can't. I won't. I will move, move myself, move the universe if I need to.

I don't feel the momentum from walking, rather the world changes around me, not I moving to another place on the face of the earth. Naruto lays on the ground, lifeless, unmoving… D…e…a…d?

No, that chain, it still connects us, it is there, but it is weak, his bond drenched and diluted with pain, mine by fury, but it grows stronger as I feel the rain drench my body. Rain? No, snow? When did snow begin to fall?

I hear a cry from the distance as I begin to take Naruto's body into my arms. Voices, so familiar, so far away. I awaken from this trance, this stupor of drunken rage. It's Sakura?

"Hinata-san! Is Naruto alright!" She cries out, and my lips quiver.

"I…I…I don't know!"

She is sprints toward me, Neji behind her carrying the body of a girl I had seen before a lifetime ago. I hold Naruto out to her, I am not his savior, I can't save him.

Sakura looks over the bloodied, mangled body of Naruto in amazement. This is the first time I've ever truly looked at him. Not since then, it felt so long ago. What a fool I am, it was only three days ago that we met, yet here I am killing for his sake and torturing in his vengeance.

Naruto…Is unscarred, unmarred. The only evidence of any damage done to him were long gashes along his clothes, blood soaked all over.

"Thank goodness, Hinata-san, Naruto's alright, but what about Sasuke-kun?"

"I don't know…" I answer back, a chill in my voice.

"I'm right here." A voice called out from the side of the bridge, " Sorry I'm late, but it looks like you took care of everything." Unharmed and unshaken, a stark contrast to everyone else on the bridge.

"What do we do now? They're our prisoners now, they did surrender." Lee calls out, carrying the body of another ninja, the twin of the other, his bandaged arms dripping blood, so much blood.

"Lee! What happened!" Sakura questioned as she ran to the bleeding ninja.

"That technique, about that… My chakra coils couldn't handle such high concentrations and the sudden release of chakra…" He answered as he laid the body down next to the comatose body of Zabuza, his arms being tended by Sakura.

"Better not use it anymore Lee, you're chakra coils look like they're engorged and ready to burst." Commented Neji, laying the body of the girl next to her brother.

"Well, what do we do now? We can't carry both these prisoners and our injured. We'll need to either leave them behind, or kill them." Another question came from the calm voice of Sasuke.

"No, please, don't, don't hurt them!" One of the bodies yelled out, it looked like the girl, her body much too abused to move, but she could still speak. "I agreed to surrendering and to spare their lives, but in return, you could study my kekkai genkai! If you betray me, us, I hope you die slow and painful deaths!"

"Well then, there's always that to consider as well."

Something flashed in my mind's eye. Katas, hand seals. I know this, it feels so remote, removed from me, but so familiar. I gently lay Naruto down onto the ground and my hands then begin to move on their own.

I first bite my thumb and wipe the blood along my right palm, and then my hands begin to take familiar shapes…Ram… Monkey… Bird… Dog… Boar… I feel the chakra that the woman had given me drain away slightly.

My palm then hits the ground and a cloud of smoke. From within this cloud I hear growls and claws tapping against the ground.

"What human summoned us? There is only one here who can summon us, and he did not cast the technique!" A demonic, distorted voice called out from the cloud.

As the smoke cleared, I stood in awe at what I had just accomplished. I had summoned three massive, orange, three tailed foxes. Nine tails in all.

"Which human called us?" A fox demanded, stepping forward as to assume leadership.

"I have, and you must obey me!" I suddenly called out, as if I had no control over my self.

"Then you die human, you called us here without ever signing a contract, you've broken the pact!" The beast growls as it pounces upon me.

The creature hits the ground, writhing in pain and crying out, whimpering like a scared kit. I vaguely remember moving. Vaguely.

"You…you smell… like her…!" One of the foxes cried out in despair, immediately bowing before her in fear and cowardice, the other following suite. " Please, do not harm us!"

The third fox had somehow managed to recover and get back on its four feet, with great difficulty. It too bowed in compliance.

"You shall carry Naruto-kun. The other two are to carry the three mist ninja and Lee-san."

They faithfully complied and obeyed, going up to each of their respective passengers, one fox taking Naruto by the collar and hoisting him onto his back. The other fox did the same thing with Zabuza and Haku. Rock Lee took Raharu and hesitantly placed her upon the fox's back, and after much deliberation climbed on as well.

"H-Hinata-chan! How did you do that? Only Naruto can summon foxes!" Sakura said in amazement. I was still reeling from the entire act of almost killing a person. I don't ever want to go through that again.

But, how did I do that? As I brought my hand up to my cheek, I felt three scars along the side of my face. I feel the other side, three as well, whisker shaped scars.

"I… I am a fox…?"

Author's Note: Sorry for the lack of updates, but I've found sleeping to be a rather compelling pastime. About the Gaara thingy, I'm putting it on pause because school projects are bothering me too. Next update I'll just replace this chapter with a longer version as well as a new chapter, or I could just upload a super long chapter. Which do you prefer? Tell me on your reviews


	18. This Field of Souls

As I feel the long gashes across each side of my cheek, they heal over as quickly as they came from Zabuza's sword. Why had I said that? A fox? I am no such thing. I am neither cunning, nor am I mischievous. Then what had made me say that? I remember once of an old philosopher, a doctor, who studied the mind. He said that when one says something not as they intended, it is what the truly mean, not what they had intended to say. Is that the case for me then? Do I want to be a fox, just as Naruto?

'You are a fox'

A whisper in the wind? Nothing more, nothing less, the pressures of the now, the physical take higher priority.

"Fox, Hinata-san? What are you talking about?" Sakura asks, and I don't know what to say.

"No, I'm sorry I said that. I am no fox, I am less than an animal."

"Don't say that, Hinata-imotosan, you are, we are equals." Neji calls out, attempting to reassure me as he tended to his wounds.

I don't hear him. I feel the sheer force, the power from me being drained. Almost like a saucer tipping over. It is a feeling I gladly embrace. From the power came aggression, the want, the will to hurt, maim, kill. Without it, I feel weaker, but not incomplete. In fact, I feel more complete now than I ever have been, even if I know nothing of myself, nothing of these surrounding me, I feel at peace. I hear a thump, and all I see is the ground. Then everything fades away.

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"Hinata!" She cries out in concern, yet it is tipped by the unconscious urge of self-preservation.

Sakura had felt the chakra of the nine-tailed fox seeping from Hinata, dripping from her skin and falling upon the floor, polluting the earth with its touch. Only one person she knew had such a cursed power, Naruto. Then why was it coming from Hinata?

"Hmph, does this mean we don't need to carry these fools anymore?" One of the three foxes interrupted as they all stared at the fallen body of Hinata.

"Silence fox. C'mon Lee, help me put her on the fox" The Hyuga orders with anger and authority, agitated by the fact that his cousin was wielding the power of a demon that could destroy everyone, and everything.

"You felt it, didn't you?" Sasuke asked as Hinata was propped up behind Naruto and the two tied together, then to the fox.

"Yes, somehow, Hinata-san was using that same cursed chakra that Naruto keeps hidden within." Concurred Neji as he settled on the floor to catch his breath. His agitation was further amplified by the fact that his left arm had suffered several burns and had to be hung by a sling.

"Well, this is an unforeseen development. What should we do, Neji?"

"We get back to the village as soon as possible."

"Do we have any other choice?"

"None that seem logical."

Neji looked down the road and hoped that this would turn out as well, despite all the problems that had beset them. It sucked to be the team leader.

"Why couldn't we get Shikamaru to be team leader here? I'm no strategist." Neji wondered aloud as he got up and stretched his arms.

"Because, Shikarmaru is acting as the 'diplomat' to the village of hidden sand. We need all the allies we can get." Sasuke answered his rhetorical question as he walked up next to him.

"Well, we better start moving. The sun's already coming up." Regrettably, Neji began to move from his comfortable position.

As the small group began to move, Sasuke paused to look at the red rising sun.

"When the present comes and the past must be left, we must leave it without regret or remorse. I hope we learn that lesson well, for the sun hath come veiled in blood. A great deal of people died tonight by the hands of others. Curious." Sasuke rambled to himself, earning the curiosity of Sakura.

"What does that mean Sasuke?" She came up from behind and wrapped her arms around him.

"I don't know…"

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Where am I? Is there space, is there time? What is this place? I see nothing, feel nothing, taste nothing, hear nothing, smell nothing. It is a void. Where am I?

"You humans always wish to name things, so that you may say this is mine."

A voice? This lack of senses, it leaves me empty, maddening, no means of communicating with the world around. Yet I hear. A sense, one single sense is enough to keep me from being driven from madness.

How long have I been floating here? In this void?

"Time here is an illusion. Your sleep is an illusion as well."

An illusion? Then what is real? Wake up, awaken, rise, move!

I see light, the sun shaded by the branches of a tree. It is a beautiful tree, ancient and wise, it has seen the birth and death of everything for eons, it is far more ancient than any culture on this place we call earth, and yet, the sun is still too bright. My hand rises to further shield my eyes from the glaring presence of the sun, yet its warmth is much appreciated.

As I sit up, I scan my surroundings, it is a plain, a plain of grass and emptiness. In the distance, some trees are visible, yet each one is as lonely as the one I sit underneath. And some trees are grown so close to one another that their trunks are intertwined. But, it is still a desolate place, the wind brings a wave across the grass that stirs me to the very soul.

As for I, what do I look like?

My clothes have changed. I wear a light kimono that goes down to my ankles, as white and glaring as the moon. Over that white kimono are several lengths of cloth draped all around my figure, studded with metal that shinned brighter than the stars. My obe was as golden as the sun that shined above me. The unification of the sun, moon and stars.

"Come child, you have many questions, and I've many answers to give." That same voice as before calls out, from the other side of the tree, yet it appears younger, like that of a child.

I circle around the tree, and on the other side at the base of the tree I find a young woman from before playing with a pool of water at the base of the tree. Yet as she turns around, she is the same woman who I had seen in Naruto's dreams, but she is younger, youthful, innocent.

"Hm, I see you look as cute as ever. I rather like the clothes you had selected. When you awaken, you'll be wearing them." She gladly says as she watches me approach.

"What do you mean, when I awaken? Aren't I awake?"

"Well, it all depends on what you mean by awake. You see, you're conscious and unconscious at once. Confused? Come look at this pool."

I obey and kneel next to her, and peer into the pool. At first I see nothing more than water, yet colors and images swirl around. I see an image of a sleeping girl leaning upon the back of a sleeping boy riding the back of a fox. Flanking us are two men, one wore all black and a massive blade hung from his back, the other wore all white and his left arm was in a sling.

"I-I…I kn-" I begin to answer, but she cuts me off.

"You know these individuals, see? There you are, there is Naruto, Neji, and Sasuke."

I watch in horror as I burst into flames and Neji stumbles back in horror. The flames die out as soon as they came, and my tattered clothes turned into as they are now. Naruto then caught fire as well, and then the girl thrusts a finger into the pool, causing a ripple that disturbs the entire image, causing it to turn to nothing more than a pool.

"Wh-what happened to Naruto!" I demand in my shock.

"Nothing, I decided to change those tacky clothes of his. Much too lame."

"Is that really necessary for us to catch ablaze?"

"Not really. I just like scaring your companions. They are strung much too tightly. Someone needs to loosen them up. Regardless, I'm sure you must be wondering who I am." As she pauses, her hand finds its way to her heart and she allows it to rest upon her chest. " I am the demon fox known as Kyuubi. I know Naruto would have preferred that he tell you, but you're going to be rather confused by then." Her hand then extends outward towards me. "And I know you are Hyuga Hinata."

"How do you know who I am, Kyuubi-sama?" I ask in desperation, what does a demon have to do with all this?

"I know a lot about you. I know your involvement with Naruto-chan has caused him to remember rather painful memories. Memories I had worked very hard to suppress. I also know how much you care about our little Naruto."

"That still doesn't answer how you know me."

"I know you, because I've been with Naruto-chan since he was nothing more than a child. Rather, I have been within the little snot since he was born."

"But, you were supposed to have been killed by the fourth."

"The fourth did no such thing. He sealed me within Naruto-chan after your clan acted rather foolishly."

"My clan?"

"Did you know that Naruto-chan had no family? He's lived all alone, and worse, as a child, no one ever bothered to reach out and befriend Naruto-chan. It's because I was sealed within him, and so the villagers see him as me. A rather foolish way to look at a weak little human, but still they feared him. So they alienated him and attempted on several accounts to kill him. Then he became friends with that Uchiha and the pink haired one. Soon he had several friends, and one love. But that is a story for later. Your clan was a foolish one, hungering for power like a desperate human would."

She paused to summon forth a small table, appearing out of the sky and slowly gliding downwards. Upon it were several different sweets and a strange looking drink in a glass bottle that constantly changed colors from red, blue, to orange and white.

"Why did you stop?" I demanded as Kyuubi began to recline next to the table and pour herself a cup of the strange drink.

"I was feeling somewhat parched. Here, try some," She offers, shoving a cup of the substance towards me, "It's good stuff."

I didn't want to offend, so I took a slight slip. It was a rush of flavors I had never felt before. Extreme sweetness, of something I knew not of, but remarkably good. I took another sip, it tasted sour and sweet, but still good. One last slip, this one was the worst; it tasted like liquid fire and left my head slightly dizzy.

"Always changes flavors, along with the colors. Watch out, it's a bit alcoholic." She warned me, despite being a bit late to brace myself. "Now, tell me about your life as the royal heir to the almighty Hyuga family."

Despite appearing to be a bit off topic, I decided to humor her. I set the glass down and began to recall my earliest memories.

"Since I was little, my family has attempted to teach me their secrets, what made them so much greater than everyone else. Yet, they felt they couldn't simply tell me and hope I understood, they had to beat the lessons into me. I remember once, my father taught me a technique, and he said that I was required to use that technique to hurt him, otherwise he would kill me. I was so afraid, I had barely understood the technique, and now I had to hurt him, or die. I had been beaten so bad, I had fallen into a state of sleep for three more days. After my sister was seen as a superior candidate, I was considered to be nothing and cast out to be trained as a priestess. I had always wondered why they had not simply married me off like my cousins, then I remembered something my father had told me."

" You are special in that you were born with something that could make you more powerful than any other being in existence. But you were born too late, and you have shown yourself too weak."

By now, tears had welled up in my eyes, and it took every bit of will to keep them from spilling over.

"Now, now child, it is alright." Kyuubi comforted me, almost like a mother. She reached over and embraced me. Such a gentle hand, it reminded me of my mother's.

"I-I'm sorry." I could only reply.

"That's alright. Now continue, what's so special about you?"

"At first, I had no idea what he spoke of. It was during my training that the high priest had revealed to me I could draw upon the powers of sealed demons, without breaking the seal. I had the power to seal, control, bind, and draw upon demons. I then noticed that my birth was only a month after the appearance of you, the nine-tailed fox."

"Ah, so you have undoubtedly figured out!"

"I was meant to be your vessel, not Naruto-kun…"

"But you were born a month late. So Naruto-kun suffered for something that was engineered for me."

"Yes, yes. Your father summoned me like the fool he was. He realized he could not control me for long, and so I broke free, and decided to bring forth my wraith upon your people. He escaped me, but thousands, millions died. There are still lives being destroyed by actions I had done years ago, that echo that never fades. Your clan knew they would be hounded for having summoned me, so they ran, like the cowards they were."

"Am I… I am responsible for Naruto-kun's suffering?"

"Correction, your father, your clan is responsible for it, you have brought Naruto-chan some grief, but overall, you've made him happier."

And yet, I still can't help but feel anger towards myself, towards my father, towards the entire damned Hyuga clan. I know why now Naruto hates him. I know why he gladly took up the sword against my father.

"But enough of this for now, we'll come back to this after you've had a little break. Now, let's see what the others are up to." Kyuubi beckoned to me as she turned to the pool.

The colors swirled, and some abstract images could be seen. Colors, light, changing, forming, and soon I heard a voice, that emanated from the pool. It was a girls' voice.

"So, are you going to kill me, Lee?"

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Authors Note: Hmm, I think it's a decent sized chapter. Still sorta small by most standards though. I'm starting to think my potential lies downward, not up. Oh well, enjoy the chapter anyway. I write for the entertainment of people I'll probably never, ever, ever meet, and it's pretty fun, I must say.


	19. Children

The darkness encroaches upon my being, I could feel it. It felt as if nothing, however. This seemingly never ending darkness, was I just blind or was there truly nothing? I attempted to draw breath, yet there was sharp inhale, no breath, just the pressure of suffocation. I began to gasp to no avail, the weight pulling at my chest, crushing my heart and lungs.

"Awaken" A voice calls out, an echo of times long ago and sometime soon.

The world around me takes on color and image, of a realm maddened by the emotion, twisted and horrified, yet in its own way of beauty and strength. The pressure is released and I taste the sweet air once more, my vision restored, only to see this horrific place. Yet, in the distance, I could see, perhaps a mirage, or maybe another land altogether, far from here, covered in life and beauty, whilst this place was of decay and stagnation.

" Knowledge is a powerful thing, it can change the tides of war, revolutionize societies, destroy cities, and it can feign belief." That voice calls out once more, a melodic voice of youth and innocence on a dead earth.

I look to where this voice calls out, my head twisting all around to search for someone, anyone. It felt alone, felt cold. A warmth begins to seep through my form, and I find my strength returning, upon unsteady legs I stand. I search once more for where the echoing voice came from, but its sound had already passed from my ears, and so my gaze darts aimlessly amongst the barren soil, covered in the dead foliage, with rotting trees dotting this place.

I hear a slight chuckle, laughter in a death ridden place. I turn towards it source, a tree that is neither dead, nor truly living, just simply being. I approach the oak in a dizzying mix of caution and eagerness, I knew not this place or its inhabitants, yet I was eager to find another.

"Well Naruto-kun, I guess I should've known that your failing would be the lack of something greater than strength, knowledge." That little, mocking, childlike voice mocked, and I felt animosity in return.

"Shut up, I'm smarter than twenty of you combined! A hundred!" I retaliate as I circle round the tree in living death.

I finally come upon the owner of this voice, and to my surprise, it is but a child, yet a curious child. She could be only of five or six, her eyes were large and innocent, and simultaneously carried the experience of several lifetimes, the left eye as clear as a Hyuga, and the right eye was a cross between blue and orange, a spiraling oddity. Her skin was fair, each cheek marred with three whisker like scars, hair long and blonde.

"Now Naruto-chan, no need for that." She teases with a wave, and I respond with a glare of sorts.

"Why am I here, fox?" I demand as I take a seat before her Highness.

"So unpleasant, and straight to the point, no manners at all." She chides me, a pout forming upon her mouth.

"Answer me."

"So be it." She quits her charade of both inexperience and experience. " I have told her, told her much of you I have."

There's but one she would concern telling a great deal of me, "What did you tell Hinata-chan?"

"She needed to know."

"What does she know damn it?!" I demand in anger out of her attempts to misguide and delay me.

"She knows you hold the nine-tailed fox, she knows of the foreigner and yourself, yet she knows not the circumstances surrounding the latter." She cryptically answers in earnest, her tiny voice carrying so much weight in their news.

"What did she say? How did she react?"

"She took it quite well, and she's accepted those facts, but she has secrets of her own to tell. I shall not tell them to you, she shall say them herself." Kyuubi speaks once more in puzzling circles.

"Couldn't you tell me straight for once…" I mutter under my breath, melancholy perpetuating itself through my thoughts of how she would view me.

"I on the other hand would like to directly annoy you both," She tells me as she raises herself from the earth and puts her hand upon my forehead. "I shall take a form of flesh and blood, with limited access to my chakra from a bond between us, but I am not in the least free. I'm very much under your control." Yet, before I can answer back, I am sent back reeling with great force, and as the world turns black once more, I hear her last words. "I'll see you later, papa."

"So Lee-san, are you going to kill me?" Raharu asked from her prone position upon the fox, she in front and Lee in back.

"W-wha?" Lee asked in surprise, her question appearing out of no where.

"We're the enemy, and yet you're showing mercy to us. When we were still being trained by Zabuza-sama, we were taught to never take prisoners." She answered his questioning looks, whilst at the same time reminding her self of a time long ago.

"N-no, I don't think so. We of the Leaf do our best to spare as many lives as possible, we're taught that the living tell many more tales than the dead."

"And yet, we were taught that dead men tell too many tales. To spare the life of a warrior is to strip them of their purpose, for they are weak for not being capable of completing the mission, as well as too weak to receive the death they rightfully claimed."

"But when we spare a life, that life has another chance of doing more than just killing."

"I'm not too sure."

As Lee began to ready a response, a scream came two foxes ahead, and from their vantage point, they could see two bright flames upon the lead fox.

"Sasuke, Neji, what's going on?!" Lee cried out in dismay, for they were too weak to mount any proper defense against an attack.

As soon as the candles came lit, they went out, and the fox upon whom they rode upon made no panic, for there was no pain or damage done.

"Sakura, what happened?" Called Lee as Sakura approached from the front.

"Hinata-san and Naruto spontaneously combusted, then the flames immediately went out, as if there had been no flame in the first place. The only difference was their change in clothing."

"Clothing?" Raharu asked, despite her prisoner of war status.

"You're not in a position to ask anything." Sakura answered as if a matter of fact.

"That doesn't matter, she's listening now anyway." Lee reprimanded

"Fine, Hinata-san's clothing changed into this stunning white kimono, and Naruto's clothes turned into some weird foreigner's clothes."

"Foreign clothes? Enlighten me." Raharu asked once more, despite her condescending tone Sakura answered.

"It looks like some sort of big black coat trimmed with orange, and some normal body armor underneath painted the same colors."

As they discussed in back, Sasuke and Neji were bringing up the front, just as perplexed as the others were as to this event.

"What do you think that was all about?" Came Neji's question, his eyes closed, yet he maneuvered as if he saw all.

"My guess is the nine-tails, it's done odd things in the past, I'm not surprised it's happened once more" Sasuke answered back, as if similar had happened in the past.

"Once more?"

"Yes, once Naruto disappeared. We found him a week later running into the village screaming and on fire, yet the fire neither burned nor immolated his clothing. After a day or so, he got used to it, and by the next, it had gone out on its own."

"The cause?"

"Nine-tails, he supposes."

"I see."

They traveled in silence once more, the quiet lit up only by the occasional sounds of the conversation from the rear. After a time, Sasuke spoke up.

"We need to rest, we're at below half strength, another attack would kill us. Despite the shield, an attack along both sides of the road will leave us with no hope of escape." He brought up the rather unfortunate facts of their current situation.

"I know. The road's shield ends off at a village nearby, before reaching Konoha. We'll find lodging and rest for the night." Came Neji's solution.

"What about the prisoners?"

"Keep the foxes with them, cover them in exploding tags. If they try to remove their bonds, they explode, or the foxes eat them."

"So be it."

"So be it." Repeated Neji, and for a time there was yet another moment of comfortable silence between the two, until Neji spoke up once more.

"I'm going to tell the others about the new plan."

"Alright, I'll stay watch on the front."

At Neji's news, Sakura and Lee yelped for joy, while Raharu was a little less receptive to the idea of foxes and exploding tags. After an hour of travel, they met the village at half past ten, the milk white moon casting all in a perpetual white light. The village itself was a little village named nameless, sleepy and small, with only a small inn and store. The majority were just farmers making a living.

Neji and Sasuke entered the inn first, to ensure that their lodging safe, and after a moment of waiting, they exited with grave faces.

"What's wrong Sasuke?" Sakura asked, for while Sasuke forever frowned, his face of disappointment was far worse.

"We've only got enough money for three rooms, I lost most of the money during my swim." Sasuke answered in hazy dismay.

"You and Sasuke will share a room, Naruto and Hinata-sama as well, and I guess it'll be me and Lee." Neji proposed quite destitute.

"Why Naruto and Hinata-san? Do you trust that pervert with her?" Sakura asked incredulously.

"I unfortunately do." He admitted with great difficulty.

"Worry not Neji, our sleep shall be grand, you may have the left side and I the right." Lee attempted to reassure Neji, yet the response was killing intent to uncharted measures.

"What of the foxes, and the prisoners?" Sakura asked, ignoring Lee and Neji.

"They get the stable." Came Sasuke's smug reply.

"So I won't get a room?" Raharu asked in concern.

"No." Came the universal response.

"Damn."

The foxes were and prisoners were led into the stable with Sasuke leading them, attaching exploding tags and reinforcing the bonds. He left the foxes with instructions to not attack the horses, but they could eat Haku, Zabuza, and Raharu should they escape, which pleased them immensely.

Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata were placed side to side on a bed upon a room, the moonlight spilling onto their faces. Both wore faces of serenity, despite their injuries. Each ninja took their room as they were assigned to, and fell asleep immediately.

Yet, unknowingly to all, even he, Naruto's hands plucked a tiny hair from Hinata's head and bit his thumb, mixing the blood with the hair. His hands then formed several seals and his palm struck the bed side, followed by a puff of smoke, and a third body amongst the two. All occurred without Naruto ever waking.

"Mama, mama, wake up mama." I heard a little girl's voice, she sounded like a nymph, like in one of my dreams.

"Mama, mama, mama, mama." Came the nymph's cute voice, repeating over and over. Why was she saying mama? Maybe it has to do with the fact that I miss my own mother…

Wait a moment, am I dreaming? My eyes slowly open, and are met by the sun's early rays. I stare upwards to find that I'm in a strange room, a different room. A bed that was not my own. I look to my left to find Naruto sound asleep, a trail of drool falling from his mouth.

What the does this mean? I slept with Naruto? A deep scarlet blush crept along my face at the thought. And who the hell was calling "mama"?

"Mama, you're awake!" The girl's little voice came from my right, and I look to find a strange little girl next to me.

She could be only of five or six, her eyes were large and innocent, the left eye as clear as a Hyuga, and the right eye was a cross between blue and orange, a spiraling oddity. Her skin was fair, each cheek marred with three whisker like scars, hair long and blonde.

It couldn't be, is this how kids appear? A guy and a girl just sleep in the same bed, and a kid appears? Oh no, this can't be happening. I mean, I like Naruto and all, but, we're not even married, I'm not ready for this at all!

" Mama, why are you looking at me like that?" She asked, her face sending a questioning stare, an adorable stare that penetrated me.

"Oh, nothing honey, I was just looking at how pretty my little girl looks." I try to lie, if at best to not hurt her feelings. Oh my, this is odd.

"Hey mama, I'm bored, I wanna play a game." She asks me, and I think for a moment.

"I know, why don't we play the name game?" I quickly think up out of the blue, out of complete accident, but I may be able to use it to get some answers.

"What's that?"

"Well, I point at something, and you name it."

"Okay!"

I first point towards the window, "What's that?"

"A window!"

I then point to the door.

"A door."

I then point to the girl herself.

"I'm Uzumaki Sayomi!" She points to herself, proud of her name.

"And who am I?"

"You're momma silly." She laughs at my supposedly silly question.

"And who's that?" I point to Naruto next to me.

"Papa sleeping."

"Good job!" I smile, but inside I'm essentially going insane.

Mother plus father equals child. Hinata plus Naruto equals Sayomi? I never remember giving birth to her, never mind seeing her as a baby. How the hell do babies happen anyway? A man's supposed to share his bed with a woman, but what the hell does that mean? Goddamn monks never answer my goddamn questions.

A knock comes to my door, thank the gods!

"Stay put Sayomi-chan, I'll be right back."

"Okay mommy."

I throw the blankets off to find myself in the splendid kimono from that dream. Or I think it was a dream. I walk to the door and open it a crack to be met by Sakura's face, brightened at my state of consciousness, yet still rather grave.

"Morning Hinata-san, I'm glad you're awake, are you alright?" She asks in earnest, as a doctor asks her patients.

"I'm fine, but a little… Shaken…" I answer with some difficulty.

"Oh, sorry about that. We only had enough money for three rooms, so you and Naruto had to sleep together, sorry."

"Well, it's actually about that…"

"What, did he touch you?" She asked in a serious, low tone, as if to prevent anyone from hearing.

"Well…"

"Mama, who's that?" Sayomi calls out from the bed, and I'm forced to reveal her.

"What, mama?" Sakura asks as she pushes the door open, and her mouth drops open in shock as she sees the little girl sitting upon Naruto's stomach.

"Wha… Eh…? Huh…?" Sakura stuttered in amazement, her mind seemingly attempting to put one and two together.

"You pervert!" Sakura screamed as she stomped towards Naruto's unaware form.

"Eh? What happened?" Naruto asked as he bolted upwards, only to be beaten back into the bed with Sakura's mighty fist.

"Ah! Don't do that to Naruto-kun!" He had just recovered from major injury after all.

"Don't hit daddy!" Sayomi cried out as she began to hammer Sakura with her tiny fists.

"Grahh! There shall be a reckoning Naruto!" Sakura continued, beating Naruto back into unconciousness, much to Sayomi and my dismay.

Such commotion was bound to wake someone up, rather, two people up. Neji and Sasuke strolled in to see what was the matter, expecting to see a broken Naruto, a crying Hinata, and a furious Sakura. As they entered, Sakura was still punching Naruto into oblivion as me and Sayomi were attempting to cease her assault, the two were largely ignored.

"So, who's the kid?" Sasuke asked after a few moments of awkward chaos.

"Ah…? Sasuke-kun, you're awake, how are you sweetie?" Sakura immediately brightened and ceased her beating of Naruto, much to Hinata and Sayomi's relief.

"I'm fine, so what's wrong?" Sasuke continued.

"Oh, well I awoke to find that Naruto had raped Hinata-san here and bore him a child." She half sarcastically, half seriously spoke, so as to no one would know whether she told the truth or was just making up shit.

"Really?" Neji asked, somewhat amused, expecting this to be a joke.

"Well, I'm not too sure, I didn't bother asking Hinata-san, I just jumped to conclusions." Sakura laughingly admitted.

"Is this true Hinata-sama?" Neji redirected his gaze, towards me.

"Well, I just woke up, and Sayomi-chan was here in the bed with us, and she was claming to be our daughter." I tell as much as I know, which was very little.

"Mama, who're these people?" Sayomi added in for good measure.

"Little girl, how do you know Naruto and Hinata-san are your parents?" Sasuke asked as he knelt before the little girl, looking at eye to eye.

"I-I don't know, I don't remember anything, except they're my mommy and daddy…" She began, tears welling up, "W-why? D-does mommy not want me anymore?"

"I said nothing of the sort, I was simply verifying as to whether you were their child or not."

"Mommy, I'm your baby, right?" She asked me in earnest, crying freely now, tears falling.

"Of course you are." I tell her, just to calm her down, and I reach down and take her in my arms. As to whether or not she was really my daughter, I doubted it, but we'll need to find her parents eventually.

"Huh, what now?" Naruto managed as he got up from the bed, bleeding and covered in bruises.

"We've got a girl claiming to be your daughter, Naruto." Sasuke answered after an uncomfortable silence of sorts, only Sayomi's bawling making noise.

"Oh, I see. Sayomi-chan." He groggily answered, as if unaware what he was even saying.

Naruto got up and approached me and Sayomi, and looked at her face rather hard, as if trying to figure something out, and Sayomi stared back with an innocent stare, and they stared for a minute or two, before Sayomi spoke up.

"Why's daddy acting weird?"

"Oh, nothing honey." He mused and went back to the bed and collapsed, whether out of exhaustion, pain, or shock.

"What! He acts like its nothing!" Sakura screamed as she charged Naruto once more, only to be held back by Neji and Sasuke.

"Do a blood test." Said Naruto as he lay upon the bed, staring into the ceiling.

"You know what, maybe I will!" Sakura screamed back, and she approached Sayomi and me.

"Now, Sayomi-chan, I'm going to need to make a little prick to draw some blood, is that alright sweetie?" She asked, putting on the sweetest smile she could, pulling out three needles.

"Momma…"

"It's alright Saymoi-chan, see, I'll go first." I answered and held my hand out.

Sakura nodded and wiped at my arm with a damp cloth, then injected the needle. We watched as I saw blood ebb into the tube, and in moments, it was filled with the red fluid.

"Alright, you next."

"Okay."

Sakura took her little arm and withdrew some blood as well, Sayomi wincing a little, but not crying, much to her credit. I remembered as a child, I cried at the sight of a needle.

"You're done, now it's time for Naruto-kun." Sakura said with a great emphasis on the kun part.

She approached Naruto's form, drew a rather evil little needle, and stuck it into his neck without warning, no sterilization, just a brash stab. Naruto yelped and attempted to fight back, but of course Sakura applied an "anesthetic" in the form of her fist. She unceremoniously withdrew the needle and put all three away into her bag. If Naruto's had friends like this all his life, he sure didn't need any enemies.

"I'll be ready in an hour or so, go downstairs and have some breakfast." Sakura urged us as she floated out of the room.

"To think, I may have a niece that may be related to that idiot." Neji muttered underneath his breath.

"Mama, who's that guy, he looks a lot like you." Sayomi threw in her somewhat random question.

I introduce little Sayomi to Sasuke and Neji, and the five of us go to the tavern downstairs to eat some breakfast. I ate very little, while Sayomi and Naruto ate massive amounts, stomach destroying amounts even. The two played together as if Naruto had been a father all his life, and watching this caused a slight smile to escape my lips. It looks like I'm having a happy little family with Naruto, but her appearance was still a mystery. I needed to speak with him in time.

Sasuke and Neji ate in silence however, occasionally glancing up at the three of us, and it felt somewhat odd, for what reason I knew not. Soon enough, Rock Lee appeared, and in hushed voices Neji explained the current situation. He took to the occasion with great joy and began to play with Sayomi and Naruto. As Sayomi tugged at Lee's eyerows, I began to reflect upon my own childhood.

It was a sad one, lined with loneliness and pain. The clan is less of a family, and more of an institute to train cold, hard individuals meant to kill. Neji was an example of this, his silent nature a testament to the scars they left upon him.

"Hey everyone." Sakura appeared an hour later, yet it felt only minutes, time flew quickly and easily, more fluid than water even.

"Well, I have the results." Sakura began, and paused, glancing at a sheet of paper.

"So, is she?" I temptingly ask, my insides churning as a part of me desperately wanted her to be mine, yet another screamed at me I was not ready, that I could raise her to be a horrible person, pass on the abuse of the Hyugas to her.

"She is, Naruto-kun is a father and Hinata-san's a mother…"

As you all know, I haven't done anything in the past few months, so here's a short story with a moral to explain everything. Even the answer to all of life's questions.

Akimoto: Hello brain!

Brain: Hi Akimoto!

Akimoto: Hey brain, I've got a problem.

Brain: Yeah?

Akimoto: It's imagination, she's been distracting me from writing anything by making me want to draw and write other stuff. What should I do?

Brain: Tra la la la la, I think I'll fire the bitch.

Akimoto: Looks of shock and amazement

Imagination: Noo, don't you love me Akimoto?

Akimoto: Of course I love you!

Brain Aiming a TV at Imagination: I think not, you're keeping Akimoto from concentrating on important things, like school… And School… And homework… And school…

Imagination: Don't do it! It'll rot you too Brain!

Brain: A small price to pay for giving Akimoto a future in a conformist, weak minded society! Turns the TV on

Akimoto: No! Jumps in front of the TV, and is immediately mesmerized by the pretty colors.

Imagination: What have you done! Now he's a couch potato!

Brain: Meh, it'll keep him off drugs.

Imagination: But…But…

As Imagination attempts to argue her point, she slowly becomes a fat lard, and the brain becomes mentally inefficient. The end.

Television: Or is it?

Moral: I know not what I do


	20. A Long, yet Short, Walk

"Is she really…?" Lee asks the question that has been bubbling within my mind for quite some time.

"The blood test doesn't lie, she is of Hyuga and Uzumaki descent." Sakura answers oddly calm.

"Where did she come from? Children don't just pop out of the ground." Lee asks once more, asking questions that I desperately needed the answers to.

"That I don't know, which is why I was hoping to question Naruto the pervert and Hinata-san." Upon her conclusion, all eyes turned upon me, and I wondered what to say.

"I don't know actually… I-I don't even know how kids happen... Really…" I answer after a rather long moment's hesitation. All eyes then turned towards Naruto, with Sayomi upon his lap.

"I hope you have the answer for this, Naruto." Neji asked, eyes stabbing like diamonds.

As Naruto's mouth opened to speak, it felt as if time began to slow. His lips moved as if weighted down by gravity, and then stopped. I noticed the stillness almost immediately. Everyone paused in mid movement, Sakura standing menacingly, her tapping foot ceased to move in air, Lee still had his chopsticks before his face, a bit of meat waiting to enter his gaping maw. Despite the inability of others to move, I found that I could still move. As I noticed this strange occurrence, I was met by a scent.

It smelt of sweetness, an intoxication flavor that filled my mind with thoughts I shouldn't be thinking of. I suddenly realized how cute Naruto was, and I became immersed in the urge to jump upon him and kiss him passionately. I closed my eyes in an attempt to squeeze the thoughts out of my mind, but they only intensified. In my mind's eye, I saw myself embracing him, slowly removing each other's clothes.

I squeezed my eyes even tighter, and shook my head. In response, I felt something soft push against my back, and then the warmth of another body rubbing against my back, soft arms embracing me. As this happened, I felt a shiver of pleasure rush down my back, electrifying me from head to toe. Any attempts by me to gain control of my thoughts were destroyed as a number of dirty images entered my mind, involving Naruto, Sasuke, and even Sakura. Lustful urges were taking control of me, I could no loner bear it, and in desperation I threw my eyes wide open.

"Heh, I can have that kind of effect on people." Came the mocking voice of a woman, feminine seduction dripping from every word. "I can't help it, I'm a very dirty fox." She playfully whispered into my ear,

"Huh?" My head cranes around to look at who held me so closely, to have this 'effect' on me.

I'm met by red-blue eyes, similar to those held by Sayomi, no, exactly like Sayomi's. She had three scars marred along each cheek, creating whisker the illusion of whiskers, similar to Naruto, Sayomi, and to a lesser extent, me. Her hair was a vivid blend of orange and yellow. She lacked the ears of a human, but had upon her head the ears of a fox, and I looked down to see her tail tickling my chin.

"K-Kyuubi-sama?" I manage to spit out.

"On target." She whispers once more into my ear.

"W-What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing of consequence. I paused the movement of time in your mind so we might have a conversation."

"P-paused? Y-you mean t-that all this is happening in my head?"

"You catch on faster than that idiot."

"T-then w-what about that scent… A-and w-why d-did I-I-I….." I try to get out, but nothing comes from my mouth.

"You should really stop that stuttering, it's a bad habit, you know? It breeds miscommunication. As for those pretty little thoughts flashing before your eyes, I have a tendency of eliciting thoughts of… Lust... From you mortals. I am worshipped as a goddess of such things, after all." She explains calmly, not losing that seductive tone that made me wish to kiss her. "That idiot isn't affected by such things, he's been stuck to me for so long, sex appeal has almost no effect on him."

"Sex?" I question, only to be cut off.

"I'm not an idiot!" Naruto called out from across the room, getting up from his seat and approaching us.

"Of course you aren't. You're just very, very slow." Kyuubi snaps back.

"Whatever you dumb fox!" He yells in her face, inches from my own.

"H-how is Naruto here?"

"He's here because I had your minds linked for this brief split second, for I wish to speak with you both."

"Well, out with it fox, can't you see I'm still in the middle of talking?" He angrily demands, and in confusion I look behind Naruto, only to see Naruto still sitting in his seat, frozen and unflinching, mouth about to open. He acts as if this happens regularly… I wonder how often this happens to him.

"It's about Sayomi-chan over there." She pointed to the still girl, actively listening to every letter of the conversation. "Or rather, me."

"Yeah, it's always you." Naruto mumbles faintly, barely enough for me to hear.

"You're Sayomi-chan?" I ask immediately after Naruto's mumbling.

"Yup, Sayomi-chan and Kyuubi are one in the same."

"I've always felt like reliving my life as a kit, and I enjoy meddling with the two of you, but now I can do it directly." Sayomi explained as she walked over and joined the huddled mass that was Kyuubi and me.

" Why haven't you ever tried doing this before?" Naruto asked, curious as to why the demon chose now.

"Because, I've a reason to." She cryptically whispers followed by Sayomi's giggles. "All I ask is that you treat me as your child, I've helped the two of you quite a great deal after all. Especially the idiot."

"B-but, what do I tell everyone else?"

"I don't know, tell them Kyuubi did it somehow, after all I did do it." Sayomi lazily told for lack of a better solution.

"Did it feel as good for you two as it did for me?" She added on, and it must've been some kind of inside joke, because Naruto ended up scowling, and Kyuubi and Sayomi burst into laughter.

"But!" I ask once more, and then they vanished, time began once more, and everyone was staring at me, wondering why I had just called out "but!" for no reason.

"But what, Hinata-sama?" Neji asked

"Oh, umm, it was nothing … It just slipped, I swear. I-I've g-gotten into this dirty habit of speaking my thoughts out loud…" I make up, blushing madly as I go.

"Well, Naruto, come up with your good reason yet?" Sasuke continued the conversation once more.

"It was the Kyuubi's fault." Naruto answered as if a matter of fact.

"Oh really? Did the Kyuubi go and force Hinata too?" Sakura angrily snapped back, and it seemed to me that he's used this excuse on more than one occasion.

"Well, not really. You remember that time when I made that doppelganger that didn't act like a doppelganger?"

"You mean that one time when it ran amok looking like a girl?" Lee questioned, validating an event I had no idea about.

"And she ended up hitting on every guy in Konoha?" Neji continued.

"And had her own fan club?" Sakura added.

"Yeah, that's the one, the one I couldn't control for like, a week. Well it's something like this, but the Kyuubi made this one in the form of a little girl."

"Then can't you just poof her away or something?" Sakura asked.

"Well, not really, she's real flesh, blood, and bone, and she's got tons of chakra from me, Hinata-chan, and the fox, and she won't disappear until she runs out of chakra."

"Then when does she run out?" Sasuke asked whilst sipping from a cup of tea.

"Hmm, let me see, one.. two…" Counting on his fingers as he went, " Well, I think she has enough chakra to live for around forty years, if she expels tons of it constantly every day. If she doesn't use high power jutsus and stuff, I think she'll go on until ninety…" He mumbled, sending looks of shock into everyone's faces, including my own. I could tell that my mouth was hanging wide open.

"You mean she'll be able to grow up, like a real girl?" Lee asked in shock

"Essentially, I guess."

"Then who's controlling her?" Sasuke asked curiously, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"I'll be as the obedient child, to the letter." I hear Kyuubi whisper in my ear.

"She's an obedient child, and will follow our instruction." I announce to everyone.

"Well, I guess since she's not a product of rape, and otherwise she's a little girl in every other respect… I fine with her." Sakura finally omitted to let her trust lay in Naruto once more, much to my relief. I guess I won't need to ask her why she's so violent with him for now…

"Mama, I'm confused…" Sayomi asked in the ensuing silence.

"Oh, don't pay attention to that, Sayomi-chan, it was just boring adults talking." Naruto interjected so that I wouldn't have to explain the strange situation thankfully, for I was horrible at telling lies, absolutely horrible.

"Well, we still need to get to Konoha." Neji began immediately afterward, bringing us back to the task at hand. "It's half a day away on foot, and we've still got to worry about the prisoners…"

"Prisoners?" Naruto asked, and I remembered that he hadn't been conscious last night.

"Those three ninja that attacked us were taken captive, in exchange for their lives they're willing to tell us about their kekkai genkai. They're in the stables, being guarded by three foxes Hinata-san summoned." Lee informed Naruto.

"That's right, we still have those three foxes…" Neji began, but I slowly began to pay less and less attention.

I may have been a member of the group, but I was still just an outsider, someone new that they didn't need. They were speaking of matters that didn't concern me. I had nothing to offer them. The only words I really caught were spoken by Naruto, "We're going back to Konoha now!" Konoha…

A calmness, a rhythm in life that I had always hoped for, undaunted by the pressings and concerns that the future holds and the past chains. The warmth of the sun upon my face, the sound of a child's laugh abounds, loved and trusted ones surrounding me. Yet, this is all just an illusion, a beautiful, lovely illusion.

Only in my wildest dreams did I ride a mighty demon fox, and this would not be my first, but my third. I sat, clutched to Naruto's waist, listening to the rapid beat of his heart, my eyes closed in silent contemplation. I could not see, but I knew that there was a deep scarlet blush upon my face from being so close to him, and I felt oddly comfortable embracing him.

I could hear Naruto and Sayomi conversing, playing word games and singing songs. Her appearance, a mystery, one that I gladly embraced, the infusion of young life, the exuberance of youth gave energy to me, despite my youth. I knew not the mysteries surrounding children, birth, in general, and I didn't care. Naruto would know, and I would have to speak with him soon.

For the moment, I sat there and sucked deep from the marrow of life. I've never felt so alive, this peaceful pace, yet varying gaze. I needn't see any of it, I could feel the ebb and flow around me, the scratching of paws against the ground, the step falls of my companions, the mumbling of my prisoners. Granted, the last was not in the least wanted, but their restraint was for our own safety.

I finally decided to open my eyes to see the world around me. The endless fields of rice paddies greeted my eyes, the thump of Naruto's heart met my ears, the feeling of his body against mine, the smell of him mixed with my own scent, the taste of the ramen I had recently eaten still lingering upon my tongue. It was now that I realized how close I was to Naruto, which I could not complain about, and this prompted me to sit up straight and cease holding on to him.

"Hey, Hinata-chan, you're awake." He greeted me with a smile and a scarlet blush, his body twisted to give him and Sayomi view of me.

"Hey mommy, isn't this fox cute!? I wish I had my own little fox." She commented in her innocent fashion.

"I'm not cute, I'm scary, be afraid, be very afraid!" The demonic fox muttered back in self defense.

"Fine them Fox-san, you're very, very scary then, but really fluffy too." She teased the demon, playing with his ears. He paid her no heed.

As they talked amongst one another, I took this moment to look amongst our little convoy. We were up front, while the two male assassins, their names Zabuza and Haku, I think, rode the second fox, tied securely, guarded by Neji and Sasuke, and still very unconscious.

At their sight, I was reminded of what I had done, what I had become less than a day ago. It sent a chill down my spine, that I was willing to torture out of pleasure, to kill and maim and enjoy every moment of it. I did not deserve this peaceful reprieve, but it was given to me regardless.

All the way in back rode Lee and the ninja known as Raharu riding upon the last fox, Sakura walking along side to ensure Lee stayed relatively stable and keep Raharu from anything devious, but I doubted she would attempt to escape. She seemed to be almost glad to take the life of a prisoner treated fairly rather than an assassin treated as a killer and feared amongst all.

"Want to play with a fox your size, Sayomi-chan?" Naruto's voice snaps me back into what was happening in front of me.

"Really? A little fox my size?" She asked in earnest, it reminded me of when I was a child and given the rarity of a gift.

"Then say pretty please."

"Pweaty please"

"Say pretty please with sugar on top"

"Pweaty please with suga on top"

"Say pre-"

"Stop that papa!" She yelled in frustration with his unending, lengthening chain of pleases, which prompted a giggle from me.

"Alright, here we go!" He yells, and bites his thumb. In a blink of an eye he signs several katas which I knew by feeling, but not consciously.

He ends by placing his hand upon the head of the fox, receiving a grunt of annoyance, and a puff of smoke appears.

"Heya!" A small, recognizable voice appears.

"Meiji-kun, say hello to Sayomi-chan" Naruto orders as the smoke fades away to reveal a little, hyperactive fox.

"Hello Sayomi-chan!" The little fox exclaims

"Hello Meji-kun!" The little girl exclaims in return.

"Alright, you two play nice while your mother and I talk for a little bit, okay?" Naruto then proceeds to dismount and then walk aside us.

"You want to talk Naruto-kun?" I ask quizzically, unsure of what to make of this.

"Yeah, here, give me your hand."

I hold out my right hand to him, and he takes it firmly, then grabs me by the waist and sweeps me off of the horse sized fox, only for me to be carried by him bridal style. He smiles at me, as if to explain to me his sudden impulsive act, and I smile back.

"We'll be a little bit behind if you need us, alright?" He tells the little girl and the little fox, and they nod in understanding.

Naruto then slows his pace a little bit, ending with us trailing right behind the fox.

"Hinata-san, I never got the chance to ask you, but what do you think of Sayomi-san…" Naruto blushed as he asked me, still in his arms. My face was practically a tomato, and I had no idea what to say.

"I-I like her Naruto-kun. I would enjoy her company…" I manage to say.

"I kinda meant how she's like our daughter… The fox made her from my blood and your hair…"

"Oh… I kind of like the idea of having a daughter. But, it feels odd… Because I don't really know how kids happen, and she's a lot like a bastard child…"

"That's right, you don't know where babies come from!"

"I heard that a stork brings them, but I don't think that that's the case." I joke a bit, bringing a laugh to our lips.

"Well, I think you should talk to Sakura about that, it'll make more sense. She's the professional after all."

"Alright…"

"But about Sayomi-chan being a bastard child… I don't want to think of her as one." What could Naruto mean by that? I could see his scarlet blush turn as dark as mine… I hope it's what I think it is… "I mean to say, I like you a lot Hinata-chan…"

"I-I like you a lot as well, Naruto-kun." I respond back, this felt like a dream….

"A-and I hope that one day Sayomi-chan, you and I will be a family…" Did he just say he wanted to one day marry me? Dear Gods… This is out of a fairy tale, the brave Samurai saving the princess and proclaiming his love to her… "I want to say it…But I…" He stumbles off, and in a rare moment of courage, I interrupt him.

"I'll say it then Naruto-kun. I love you. I know how you once loved Catherine, and I think you still do. I'll wait for you, forever if need be, until you've put her behind you." I couldn't believe I said that in its entirety, without stuttering once. My hands, they moved without my order, and they wrapped themselves around his neck, and I leaned in and kissed him.

He was shocked for a moment, but, I felt him melt into my kiss, and after we broke contact for air, he returned my kiss. I couldn't believe this, what was happening. It felt as if it had all happened according to the will of some romance writer, each and every moment planned out in near perfection.

" Mama! Papa! Look!" We heard Sayomi, and looked to her with Meiji atop her head, pointing farther ahead.

I saw the great looming gates of Konoha, forged from massive logs of wood, rising high into the sky. The setting orange sun basked the gate in a hopeful glow, the gateway to the future.

"Welcome home, Hinata-chan." Said Naruto

What a mad few days it's been. I've run from my father, had a daughter, and fallen in love. Quite mad indeed.

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My God! People still read this story? I haven't really looked at it for quite some time because for one, I've been busy, and two, I thought it was a wreck. Oh well, now that I look at it a good few months later, I've got some more ideas about how to continue the story. Should've never included Sayomi so soon….

I'll answer a few questions to make the story make a little more sense, since hell, I haven't really had that much of a chance to develop the world, and to do so would bore y'all

First off, the distances of the good ol' cave and the river. I suppose it was just the lack of sleep, I didn't have a lot of that back when I was writing the first good half of the story. It appears that I did screw up that little detail, but then again, maybe Naruto's just walking very fast. After all, time and miles are relative, aren't they?

As for the cheese factor, that's the entire reason you're reading this, right? The pure cheese of it as it flows off and burns your skin into lovely bleeding blisters.

As for the world itself, the Hyuga clan is a powerful clan, economically and ninja wise, publicly known and dominating a small portion of the world, just as Konoha herself dominates part of the world, albeit much more than Hyuga.

This world works on this premise. The general public is superstitious, and the capacity to talk to demons and the dead, and channel them is not a very attractive ability. No one really wants their descendants to talk to their long dead grandfathers, even more so for nobles in the countryside that probably killed off their fathers to inherit their fortune all the faster.

Marriage works like this. One of the partners adopts the name of the other, most commonly it is the woman that takes the man's name, but those that want to move up in life will take the name of the more powerful individual, and essentially become the wife and the stronger will wear the pants. Thus, a member of the Hyuga clan, a female in mind, could marry with a powerful baron, but to ensure that this baron inherits part of the Hyuga estate, he would take on his wife's name. The name that gets left behind also leaves the family behind, and usually that's the case. But with property and such, when two heirs get married, their status becomes intertwined, the family head, IE name originator, takes power over both houses, while the second head IE name adopter still maintains some control over both estates, and his status in life becomes all the higher, but in return he actually loses some power. But, in doing so, his family becomes permanently tethered to the Hyuga clan, and his clan is enriched by such a proposition.

Bit confusing, huh?

So let's take Hinata for example. She is undesirable as a head, for one, she is weak willed, and would not hold the Hyuga household's best interests, so even if she is made family head in the marriage, she would probably fold in to demands from her new husband, and two, she carries her little curse that makes her universally hated by the peasantry, which results in bad press.

Hanabi on the other hand, is much stronger in will, and thus when she is married, she will totally and completely exert all of her control and power over the husband, making her the de facto leader of both houses, without the husband interfering in any way.

Now, the other reason no one really wants to marry into the Hyugas is that those with Kekkai Gekkai are seen as brutal killing machines, and not as humans. Thus, they are universally feared, with stupid little rumors and such popping up here and there.

"Oh, that Hyuga clan, the reason they're so powerful is that they married into a clan of ogres! They eat a first born child every night!" Blah blah blah.

The only thing that tempers the fires of power is the icy sting of fear.

By the way, this story's getting too cute. Time to get back to the melancholy effect. Maybe a bit of hate too. Oh yes, and please review. Maybe it'll make me write faster.


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